Centennial Woods Phenology

Nature and culture intertwine in any space where humans are present. One of the most prominent ways to examine this is to look at who uses the natural space and for what purpose. Centennial woods is a conserved area and reflects cultural values of preserving nature for its value as a resource for recreation and […]

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The forest has truly come to life with the sounds of birds and the activity of insects as well as the green leaves on the trees and shrubs and wildflowers across the forest floor. During my visit to my phenology site, I heard chickadees, a tufted titmouse, a winter wren, a black-throated green warbler, and […]

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I spent time this past weekend exploring other parts of Centennial woods beyond my phenology site although I was limited to the northern half because the southern part of the woods is in South Burlington. I spent much of this time trying to become more aware of birds and identify them using the songs I […]

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Spring has sprung and these changes are especially visible in the budding and leafing out of woody and herbaceous plants as well as increased bird activity. The red and sugar maples were the first trees at my site to bud and by now they are in bloom. It appears that the red oak and black […]

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Early March is such an interesting time to study phenology as the earliest hints of spring emerge although much of nature is still in winter. I was able to go explore on a day where the temperature reached the low 40s and the sun peaked out from the clouds, melting the snow. The sidewalks were […]

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The biggest change since the last time I visited my site is the snow! There’s at least a foot of snow blanketing the woods. I did not hear or see much in terms of animal activity aside from tracks as most creatures were probably hiding out to keep warm in the cold weather. The fresh […]

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In the 19th century, the land that is now Centennial Woods was primarily used for agriculture, much of it being pasture for livestock. Thus, less than 200 years ago, this land was completely cleared and has only recently undergone reforestation. Between 1891 and 1968, UVM acquired several parcels of this land from different owners adding […]

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Fish, J. (Photographer). (2020).

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The composition of tree species in my site at home is similar to my site in Centennial Woods. The primary species in both are red maple, white pine, and red oak with some beech and black cherry. However, my site at home lacks Norway maple and has species I didn’t observe in Centennial woods such […]

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