Thanksgiving Break
My backyard woods area in Virginia was the location I chose as a phenology spot over break. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the woods behind my house, which is a comfortable spot for me.
What makes my spot back home unique is the diversity of wildlife, as well as the fascinating natural and man-made features it has. The tree composition of my forest comprises primarily large mature white oaks. However, to my surprise, there are also paper birch and sugar maples. Bamboo is also abundant in my spot; I do not know how it got there, nor do my parents, but there is a large bamboo forest present. This makes my site unique because it’s the only place in my neighborhood with bamboo. It also has a stream running right beneath it. Although the bamboo looks very cool, I looked into the impact of bamboo on the environment, and it turns out bamboo reduces biodiversity and makes the soil more acidic. I plan on bringing this up with my parents to have a healthier forest! Compared to the phenology of my Vermont location, there are many similarities, such as white oak, red and sugar maple, and grey squirrels. The main difference I found was that my Virginia location contains no evergreen trees, while my Vermont location has many.
