For my last official phenology blog post (although I hope to continue to update this blog, both with my spot here in Burlington and at home in western PA), I am going to spend some time talking about the City Nature Challenge that happened last weekend. This challenge made for a very chaotic weekend. Originally, my friend and I had no plans of contributing to the challenge. However, after an evening spent wandering around Centennial Woods (and taking a few vibey photos) we realized that we were essentially doing everything the challenge was asking – just without documenting any of it. So, we decided to contribute. Chaos ensued.
We spent the next few days roaming Burlington and Winooski, traveling from Centennial Woods to the Intervale and down to the waterfront, and what seemed like everything in between. I ended up making a total of 515 observations, including 228 different species. While the experience was definitely unique, I don’t think that I would want to be a part of the challenge again. While I understand the importance of citizen science (and also see how this challenge could get some people outside and interacting with nature if they don’t normally do so), I found that I was not appreciating the beauty of these places as much as I normally would have. While, yes, I do identify plants and animals that I come across and am unfamiliar with, there was something different about identifying nature just for the sake of a challenge. And so, although the City Nature Challenge was exciting at the time, I was relieved to be done with it and just be able to go for a walk in Centennial Woods.
This will be my last blog post that is specifically formatted for class. However, I hope to continue to post about my phenology spot in the Intervale every now and then (as well as my spot at home), although updates will likely be less frequent. Overall, I have truly enjoyed this project in so many different ways, whether it be from exploring more of Burlington, becoming familiar with a specific area that I may not have under other scenarios, or just updating this blog. I can’t wait to see what changes will happen to the grove of silver maples by the Winooski River during the months I am gone.
