• A-Z
  • Directory
  • myUVM
  • Loading search...

Behind Rugby Field

Back home

Posted: December 5th, 2019 by Witt Spiller

My city is Knoxville, TN. My zip code specifically is for a small suburb of Knoxville, however, I spend most of my time in the city and that is where my school was. Knoxville is a city on the Tennessee River in eastern Tennessee. Downtown, the Market Square district has 19th-century buildings with shops and restaurants. The Museum of East Tennessee History has interactive exhibits plus regional art, textiles and Civil War artifacts. James White’s Fort, built by the Revolutionary War captain, includes the reconstructed 1786 log cabin that was Knoxville’s first permanent building.

The downtown area has a very nostalgic feeling for me, what I assume Church street is to Burlington residents, Market Square is to me. Market square comes alive every weekend night hosting live music, and movie showings at times. The market square is home to artisan local shops and is a place many Tennesseans take visitors to in order to show them the essence of our city.
In the winter there is always an ice skating rink. As small of a thing as it is, the ice-skating rink is something which is very important to resident’s sense of place. Being able to always count on that little ice rink with Christmas lights and hot chocolate is a winter tradition for many people in Knoxville and the surrounding area.

Within Knoxville, the built environment and the natural environment are often kept quite separate. The downtown area of Knoxville is seen as the cultural hub and the only green areas hosted here are very man-made areas such as World’s Fair Parks. Though it doesn’t resemble a real ecosystem very well, it has contributed as a major part of Knoxville to residents since the 80s. 

Knoxville hosting the Worlds Fair in the 80s had a profound cultural impact on the city. It created a housing market boom and gave an influx of people making Knoxville their home. The world’s fair brought a great amount of business and many people see the 80s as Knoxville’s prime and thus have maintained the park’s original look since the fair took place. The area is now used for the biggest cultural events in the city such as an annual wing fest, BBQ fest, and a farmers market.

Blog 3 -Sense of Place

Posted: November 13th, 2019 by Witt Spiller

I ventured to my blog spot on November 12th. I left behind my phone and didn’t have a camera, so I, unfortunately, did not get any pictures. I hadn’t read the assignment and I wanted to be fully immersed so I went without technology. My blog spot felt like a whole new place, it was entirely covered in snow. I wanted to see the effects on my site after the blizzard. It was like stepping into a whole new world, covered in white. The pretty red of the trees were completely covered only showing a couple sticks poking out. This is a very new thing to me, seeing as my sense of place is rural Tennessee. I have only seen snow a handful of times in my life and never this much. Going off to college in a completely different environment has completely changed my sense of place in the last few months. The snow is nice but still feels foreign. It doesn’t feel like I should be living here, just visiting. Seeing everything coated in a blanket like it is not a feeling I’m used to, I like being able to see the ground, it makes me feel more connected. I feel like this is the time in history when a person with my background would feel the most comfortable here in New England. The amount of resources I have to evade snow and keep warm is more than any time before. I can’t even imagine having a sense of place change this much without the consistent comfort I have. It’s wild to think of people venturing to cold climates without having access to buses, proper heating or quality coats. My sense of place is currently feeling like wherever my feet are. Knowing I can be comfortable here, back in Tennessee, in Bolivia and many other places is a comforting feeling.

Intro to site

Posted: October 23rd, 2019 by Witt Spiller

The first thing one will notice when walking into my site is the sheer amount of bright red Staghorn Sumacs. My site is in a patch of forest behind the UVM rugby fields and enchanted me with the staghorns, hence why I decided to choose it. Other than staghorns, my site is characterized by an abundance of Cherry Laurels. A small path behind the trees on the south side of the ruby fields will lead you to a retention pond, on the other side of this pond is my site. It is on an sharp yet short upward incline, on the other side of this mound is many beech and maple trees.

Hello world!

Posted: October 9th, 2019 by Witt Spiller

Welcome to UVM Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Contact Us ©2010 The University of Vermont – Burlington, VT 05405 – (802) 656-3131
Skip to toolbar