Today marks my last phenology checkpoint to be logged at Nature Study Woods. While I’m not required to update my blog anymore, I have enjoyed this experience so much that when I come back to Nature Study Woods this summer and for the rest of my days here in New Rochelle, I will continue to track its ecology. Its been such a learning experience and its been so enjoyable. It has tied me to my hometown more than before.
The ways in which I think nature and culture intertwine at Nature Study Woods is through its receptiveness and accessibility. Located right behind busy North Avenue and New Rochelle High School, Nature Study Woods is shared by all New Rochellians. I can see every type of person strolling through the woods on a May day, and it makes me happy that it acts as a checkpoint of nature in a relatively urban area.
I consider yourself a part of your placebecause I grew up here, but also because of my hanging definition of nature. Developing a more “kin-centric” approach to nature through taking my environmental science classes has made me feel like I am a playing piece of nature, not something separate, but rather something equal andsomething as a contributor.
The foliage/herbaceous layer of Nature Study Woods besides the trail is now completely covered in new york fern, skunk cabbage, garlic mustard, and ficaria verna as the majority. Narrowleaf bittercress also assume their place as an indicator species directly on the trail which distinguish it as a disturbed area. I found a few examples of the Onoclea sensibilis “sensitive fern” and its unfurling leaves, a species I haven’t accounted for yet! The Red Maple (now full with green leaves) marks the trailhead. The young american beech trees as northern spicebush trees that line the edge of the trails are showing great leaves and defining the edge of the trail as a more disturbed area. I found Hymenochaetaceae fungi as well as Sclerodermataceae on some felled trees. I want to track my mycological phenology in the months to come a lot more! Ficaria verna as well as japanese knotweed are two invasives I saw in all their invasive glory in the herbaceous level. I pulled out the japanese knotweed as to prevent its invasitivity. This is another aspect of phenology I want to track a lot more, as invasives can become much more observable in warmer months. To attribute to my last phenology blog post, I even found an ornamental tree at the head of trail still in bloom, a viburnum native to Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia.
