My new phenology spot is very different than my spot in Burlington, Vermont. Home is Ocean City, New Jersey, an island off the coast of south jersey. I have chosen one of my favorite natural sights to explore: the beach. The beach has always been a huge part of my life. It gives me a place to run, swim, enjoy with friends, and meditate. When I visited this time, however, I went with a new set of eyes…the set I received from NR. I noticed things I haven’t observed so deeply before. At my new phenology spot, trees were swapped out for dune grasses, forest soil for sand, and open rock faces for jetty rocks. While they appear to be quite different, my original and new phenology spot share some similarities.
Both The Redstone Quarry and the beach provide habitats for a variety of bird species. Today at the beach I saw sandpipers and seagulls. They interact with the environment by eating sea animals and swimming in the ocean. At the Redstone Quarry, I remember seeing bluejays poking in and out of the foliage growing from the open rock faces. Both The Redstone Quarry and the beach are wide-open landscapes. They contain wildlife and plant life that provide nutrients and habitats for one another. I am excited to continue visiting the beach with my newfound Natural Resources knowledge.