A UVM blog Dylan Gordon- Observational Blog

Champlain Park, June 20- 11:35am

Weather: warm, humid, sunny, windy

The area I chose for my first entry is a park overlooking the lake and downtown at Champlain College. The area has a walking path and picnic table but is almost completely empty all of the time. There are small purple and white wildflowers that seem to follow a more vividly colored patch of grass along the sidewalk. It’s relatively quiet aside from passing cars on the road. There is a tree that hangs over the picnic table, it’s angled sort of sideways and has a thick metal chain looped around its base but left on the ground. It’s been there since I moved in my apartment across the street. I wonder why it was left there- it seems to me that someone tried to pry it out of the ground. The chain looks old and might have been left there a long time ago. The lawn here has a gentle sort of slope that drops off in the direction of a playground. There aren’t kids there very often, but when there are it’s wonderful to watch. A simple brick walkway lines the edge of the area, with a few trees growing against a black metal fence blocking off a small soccer/play field.

Questions:

1. What wildflowers are native to Vermont?
2. Why is the grass growing by the path a different color?
3. What makes trees grow sideways?
4. What is the elevation from my spot to the waterfront?
5. How long has the large tree been there?
6. What bird species are most common in Burlington?
7. What type of trees make the best bird habitats?
8. What kind of maple trees can make maple products?
9.  What seasons have the most mosquitos?
10.  What mountains are right across the lake? 
11. How far are the mountains across the lake as the crow flies?
12. How much rainfall is too much for grass?
13. How much rainfall is optimal for plant growth?
14. How far down do tree roots go?
15. Why is the tree’s bark so frayed and broken?
16. What was the chain used for?
17. What causes different types of grass to grow?
18. What types of grass are best for insect habitats?
19. What grass naturally occurs vs. being planted?
20. What role do small wildflowers play in an ecosystem?
21. How long do maple trees take to mature?
22. What causes large increases in rainfall?
23. What causes grass to change color?
24. How long do trees live for?
25. Why are some patches of grass more dense than others?

Q: What makes trees grow sideways?

A: Trees often grow at an angle due to phototropism, or the tendency of plants to grow towards available sunlight. It seems like a nearby building was casting a shadow onto the tree as it grew, causing it to bend at an angle to better photosynthesize (Trees Charlotte, 2021).

Source: https://treescharlotte.org/tree-education/my-tree-has-a-lean-what-does-that-mean/#:~:text=Leans%20like%20this%20are%20often,in%20the%20direction%20of%20sunlight.

I’d like to look a little more into the patch of trees growing to the side of the fence around the perimeter of the area. I want to see what species of trees are there as well as find any critters that might be hiding away from the path.

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