For my Thanksgiving break, I spent my time back home in Baltimore. From the moment I read the instructions of this assignment to pick a place where we are spending our holiday, I knew exactly where I wanted to go in my hometown: The Baltimore Loch Raven Reservoir. During lecture, Chris discussed the idea of “Place-based” connection and learning. For me, the Loch Raven Reservoir was the first natural area I found this connection to.
One of my favorite definitions of having a sense of “place” shared in lecture was it being the relationship between a person and the land and community in which they live, “developed by experiential intimacy with natural processes, community and history of that place.”
About a 10-minute drive from my home in Baltimore, the reservoir was where I spent most of my summers throughout high school in attempt to find an accessible natural area to be outside in. This place is somewhere I have an experiential intimate relationship with, and I am grateful for this assignment to give me an excuse to come back here for even the short period I was home. For me, the reservoir provides me with an accessible area to be fully surrounded by woods and natural processes and get me out of my suburban home filled with the constant noise of the busy road I live on.
There are multiple areas in the reservoir that I have visited and love but for this assignment I stayed to a particular area of woods right on the water of the southern end of the reservoir
Link to the Google Map of the Pin
The Health of the Loch Raven Reservoir
Given the focus of this course to connect the history and current uses of the land to how the land operates now, when I was sitting in the woods of the reservoir, it made me wonder about the history of the place I was sitting in. The Loch Raven Reservoir is a vital source to Baltimore, providing the drinking water supply to both the city and county. Despite, this human reliance on the water, since 2002 (until present) the reservoir has been labeled as impaired in due to heavy metals found in the water source. The specific reason for impairment comes from the findings of mercury in fish tissue.
Total Maximum Daily Load for the Loch Raven Reservoir Report
Additionally, the history of this place fascinates me in that it has a long-life of multiple uses. At one point, this area was a suburban city that is rumored to currently be underneath the reservoir now. I linked an interesting article that goes more into it here. But starting in 1881, the reservoir was built simply as a dam. But as the population of Baltimore grew, so did this dam. It was ultimately the increased population and therefore increased need for drinking water that created the expansion of this area into the modern reservoir it is today.
Comparison of Loch Raven Reservoir & Centennial Woods
One of the biggest comparisons I noticed between the area of Loch Raven Reservoir that I explored, and my phenology spot was the difference in the effect of human interaction within each of the woods. In Loch Raven, the presence of human interference is much more noticeable than in my phenology spot. The reservoir is popular for its many hiking and mountain biking trials. The tracks of the mountain biking trails are very evident within the landscape. Additionally, the consistent trampling of plants right off the pathways are evident. One of the most infuriating signs of human presence in these woods of the reservoir were the abundant amount of tree bark filled to the brim with carvings. This differs greatly from my phenology spot where the area itself is full of vegetation along the ground and tree barked untouched from the carving of human hands. There is still a significant presence of hikers in the woods as there is a path not too far away from my phenology spot, however the human interaction isn’t as deadly as in Loch Raven.
The major tree species that dominated Loch Raven Reservoir were oak trees. This differed from the majority species in Centennial Woods which were mostly coniferous trees, American Beeches and Red Maples. Red Maples are present in Maryland and in parts of Loch Raven, but they weren’t present in the area I observed. Additionally, there was a pine stand that I passed as I walked towards the specific area I observed, which was slightly further away from the water. Oak trees are very adaptable and typically appear on gently sloping areas which would explain their presence in this landscape. The area of Loch Raven is incredibly hilly, and the human interactions showcase the need for highly adaptable trees such as oaks.
At the time that I went to the reservoir, all of the trees I saw had no leaves on them and instead had a presence of fallen leaves scattered across the ground. This matches the phenology of Centennial Woods.
