A UVM blog My Experience with UVM Nature

Today I went back to Redrock’s park for a visit to see how it looks in the spring! It looks so different! There were leaf buds and flowers on most of the trees, and the sun was shining on this beautiful 70-degree! It was so fun to walk around and get to explore my area one last time before the end of the school year.

Redrock’s has definitely changed phonologically over time as it went through fall, lost all of its leaves, and covered the ground with dead plants and leaf litter. Then through winter when it was freezing cold, everything was bear, and dead. And finally, now as we enter spring everything is sprouting, growing, and emerging! Geographically however, nothing has really seemed to change too much as I still have my favorite rocks to sit on, as you hike up you still have a solid elevation change and a change to an abundance of Eastern White Cedar trees.

This area is directly near a local neighborhood which is actually within walkable distance creating a connection between the community and the natural areas. However, what I have noticed the most is that there are so many people from our community that walk in this park. Young and old, BIPOC, locals, dogs, kids. Everyone seems to come to this area which makes me feel even more connected to the Burlington community and cultural.

However, even though I have spent many hours at this place, it still does not seem like my place. I feel as if I am part of the Burlington community, but I feel as though I am more part of my community at home, and nothing will feel the same as the pond that I grew up at. Maybe with enough hours and time spent in this area, it will one day compare, however not yet.

Here is a quick sketch I did of the rock I usually scramble up and sit on during my visit!

This week I participated in the City Nature Challenge iNaturalist BioBlitz in the greater Burlington area. I have always enjoyed using iNaturalist and haven’t had any problems. I think it is a great way to track natural activity especially in the spring while tracking phenology.

While participating in this challenge I noticed that many of my peers in the lab group posted very similar plant and animal species even if they were in a different location than me. This just shows that we are all experiencing the same phenophase even though we aren’t in the exact same location. It is so beautiful to experience these wonderful spring changes.

Internationally there is a lot of biodiversity which is expected but still very cool. Most of the wildlife spans from ocean-side creatures to desert animals.

I had a total of 27 observations for this challenge and my group came up with around 800 observations. All of my observations were made around campus or Centennial Forest.

Hey there everyone!

Today was my phonology walk, and I went around and got phenological data from 5 different tree species on UVM campus. It was an absolutely beautiful day with the sunshining and 55 degrees outside. Overall, all of the 5 tree species that I identified and collected data on were in relatively the same phenophase. Every tree we saw at least had flower buds that were emerging and a few trees had leaf buds as well. None of the trees had leaves or ripe fruit either.

The most beautiful tree was the red maple that had emerging red flowers and pollen content which was a wonderful spring surprise.

Some other spring phenology things I thought were of note were the emerging crocuses and daffodils seen around campus which brought a smile to my face! I can’t wait for more beautiful spring phenological changes to occur.

For this phenology project I travel all around Burlington area and looked for wildlife sign. I went to Centennial, around campus, and to the intervale and found multiple signs and tracks of animals.

This track was found at the intervale center, and I believe is a field mouse track because it follows a gallopers pattern and has a short stride with tail drag.

These tracks were also found at the intervale center, and I believe them to be weasel tracks. I originally thought they were shrew, or vole tracks however due to their size and the bounder pattern I now believe it to me a short-tailed.

This next track was found at centennial woods and is a grey squirrel track as it fits a galloper pattern and has the proper drag marks. This stride is also about 4 inches with a straddle of 4ish inches as well meaning it is most likely a grey squirrel. This was one of many tracks darting in between trees and through the landscape.

This next track is what I believe to be a snowshoe hare as you can clearly see the bigger hind legs with the toe prints, the smaller front feet and a clear galloper pattern. This track was also found in an open field like area which is a common place to find these tracks.

Hello there world!

This semester I have chosen a new site to explore, adventure at, and learn more about! CENTENNIAL WOODS!

This location is about a 10-minute walk from central UVM campus and is located by the water tower.

Centennial woods are about 65 acres of green space and forest. I entered through the bike rack entrance and hiked down along the path until i got to the stream and marsh area. I stopped here for about five minutes to take in my surroundings and then hiked up the other side of the creek, following the path, just until I got to the top of the hill. This is where I chose to sit down and observe.

This area is well shaded, the ground was covered in pine needs, cold dirt, and scattered heaps of snowy ice that hadn’t quite melted yet. It was cloudy out, about 20 degrees and was a very pleasant day, almost felt like spring!

My area had many bare, leaf free trees and some pine trees as well. It was full of northern white pine, Eastern Hemlock, Black cherry, some oak, birch, and maple trees as well.

When exploring the frozen creek, I came across some really interesting looking ice…

Here are a few more pictures of the creek frozen over. It looks so pretty and was so fun to skate along!

I didn’t see many signs of animal life and I think this is because there was not much snow on the ground as most of it has melted or been blown away however, I did find one animal track across a log cross the creek which I think is very cool. I believe that it might be a fox, lynx, bobcat or a cat track as it looks feline but slightly larger than domestic cat tracks.

I had a very fun hike and can’t wait to come back and explore the rest of the semester!

Edit Observations · iNaturalist

Today was my final visit to Redrock park for this assignment however it will definitely not be my last visit. Every time I visit this gorgeous area; I grow more and more fond of its unique aspects and characteristics that the everyday passerby might not notice. Today was truly the most emotionally connected I have felt to this land, and I can’t wait for my next adventure there!

Sense my last visit before thanksgiving, a lot has changed. The trees are completely bear with only a few American Beech trees still holding onto their dead leaves. The ground is completely covered by leaf litter with the occasional log or rock.

The animals were everywhere today. I was surrounded by Eastern Grey squirrels and Pileated Woodpeckers which was quite the sight. I assume they are gathering the last bits of food they can get before winter really hits.

This place has truly become so special to me. My favorite part is the fact that you can walk slightly off the trail and end up in the most magical looking area tucked away out of sight that feels like you are on a different part of the planet. It is full of the most unique hidden gems that you find once you spend a few hours exploring. This place has become extremely important to me, and I hope to continue my adventures through rocks and cedar forests at the top of the hill and venture down to the lake to discover funky looking rocks.

Even if not for a project, I will return for my own wellbeing and to enjoy nature.

” I like this place and could willing waste my time in it” – William Shakespeare

akyeager’s Pro file · iNaturalist

Today’s adventure was back home in Pennsylvania at the Yeager Pond. This pond has been part of our family sense before I was born, and I spent most of my childhood growing up hear. I learned how to swim in this gorgeous place, go on hikes in the surrounding forest, or catch little creature that live on the edge in the mossy muck of the pond. This place has been part of life and holds so many memories for me. I feel like it is only right to include this adventure and to appreciate the beauty and meaning that it holds to me.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/yKY8tesKgTzprkhj9 – This is a link to the pond on Google Maps

This is a lovely picture of the pond. It was covered with snow when I visited and completely iced over and topped with snow!

This place is special to me because it holds so many memories, good and bad, but still, most of my life was lived in this place. It is hidden back behind a circle of trees, and it holds our family tree. It was planted there when my parents got married and still lives to the day. Many pets that have passed have been barred under this tree. It truly is the symbol of our family and is our family tree.

As my way of giving back to this land, every time I leave the pond, I huge the family tree. My parents started doing this with us when we were very little, and I have continued the tradition through to this day. I find it a way to give back to the land and appreciate the importance it holds in my life. It also lets me take a moment of mindfulness to consider my past and present and appreciate the things that got me here today.

This location is very different to Redrock in Vermont (my previous phenology spot). Redrock Park is a very unique biome that holds many cedar trees growing on very thin and acidic soil covered in pine needles at a high elevation. In contrast, the pond is full of oaks and red maple trees along with some pines and beech trees. It has a high variety but not the uniqueness of white cedar trees. This could be due to the location and altitude of the pond as well as the soil pH and moisture being closer to neutral and very saturated.

Though it might not be as unique as some other natural communities, this pond to me it the most special and unique place to me. It holds memories and love and reminds me the importance of nature and protecting its special areas such as this.

Today I went to Redrock’s Park in Burlington for a little hike. It was a chilly and windy morning but such an enjoyable hike. The leaves were a beautiful mix of yellows and oranges, but many leaves have already fallen. They made such a nice crunching sound under my feet as I walked and as they blew through the wind. I found so many fun discoveries today and saw many reoccurring features.

Today I found a lot of cool fungi! I am not exactly sure on what types they are but there was definitely a lot out today. This first image reminds me a lot of a turkey tail. The second little white mushroom was barred under some leaves but was a brilliant bright white.

I saw lots of different cool tree species as well on my hike. I saw this gorgeous yellow white birch and lots of Norway maples as well. All of the Norway maples were a bright green still. Lastly, we also found a huge piece of paper birch bark that was removed from the tree.

This was such a fun walk full of so many different species that I discovered. I also saw many of the same species over again as well. There were not many changes since my last visit other than many of the trees were bare and the ground was covered in leaves. However, one thing I did notice is that the buckthorn was everywhere. Even towards the highest elevation points of Redrock’s there was still scattered buckthorn everywhere.

I also drew up a quick map of Redrock’s Park with a few of the main landmarks and forest types that are housed there.

Here is a link to my inaturalists if you would like to see some of the things I found!

Observations · iNaturalist

Today I visited Redrock park which is a 100-acre land that is full of many different environments. This park has entrances to Lake Champlain and cliffs high above the water creating two very different ecosystems. This park is located in south Burlington.

As I walked through the park I noticed a drastic change in the environments from the lower levels to the higher level. In the lower levels of the park, the vegetation was mainly large overstory trees such as sugar maple, white birch, American beech, and white pine. There was very little ground coverage but many fallen logs, pine needles, leaf debris, and small shrubby plants. I also noticed some wildlife such as stripped salamanders and grey squirrel. Meanwhile as I continued to the higher levels of this park, I noticed a sudden change in the environment. The vegetation completely changed to alpine style shrubs and trees. Mainly northern white cedar, eastern hemlock. The terrain became rocky, with trees growing directly on the rocks. The ground coverage was mainly small woody shrubs and ferns.

Your Home · iNaturalist