At first glance, one may think that Centennial Woods has always been in Burlington, untouched by humans. This, however, is untrue. In the 19th century, during peak deforestation in Vermont, the land that now belongs to Centennial Woods used to be home to multiple dairy farms. Although this information is available in documents, you can also go to Centennial Woods and see evidence of this as well. In some of the trees, there is barbed wire and hog wire the has grown to be apart of them. Not to mention, throughout the woods there are stone walls which were built to section off different farmers plots of land during the 1800s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the late 19th century, The University of Vermont started to buy these plots of land from the farmers. In total, 5 different plots were purchased, but some of the land was seized by the federal government for the creation of I-89. Since then, other small chunks of Centennial Woods have been taken to make space for a recycling center, parking lots, housing complexes, and stormwater retention ponds (at the university’s discretion). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1991, UVM wanted to use some of the land to create the Centennial Apartments, however, the city of Burlington would only allow this if they created a plan to conserve the rest of it. The university agreed, decided to declare it a natural area, which we know today as Centennial Woods. It is now used as an area of recreation for hikers, while also being a research site for students at the University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Brooks & Poleman, personal communication, September 10, 2020).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At first glance, one may think that Centennial Woods has always been in Burlington, untouched by humans. This, however, is untrue. In the 19th century, during peak deforestation in Vermont, the land that now belongs to Centennial Woods used to be home to multiple dairy farms. Although this information is available in documents, you can … <\/p>\n