As I sit bundled up at my desk at home, I’m fully protected from the first Nor’easter of the season. Without my insulated house, wool socks, and a home-cooked meal on the way, I would be nothing in the face of this winter storm.
Life at McKenzie Park is also braving the big storm. Luckily for them, adaptations over thousands of years have allowed flora and fauna the resilience to withstand the elements year after year. While some animals have spent months scavenging for sustenance to survive the cold months, others will enjoy hunting their fattened prey through tunnels beneath the snow. Deciduous trees will have already shed their foliage, working to minimize the damage caused by storms like these, and conserve energy throughout the winter. The temperature of the Winooski will drop, and parts of the river may even freeze over, compelling fish to rest on the bottom for the season, where the water will be marginally warmer.
Although the wildlife at McKenzie has found ways to adapt to seasonal changes, the land-use history of this area; our impact from centuries ago to this day; often challenged the wellbeing of Burlington’s natural areas.
Being the original highway and grocery store in Burlington, the Winooski River provided support to the native Abenaki’s of Vermont. It was used as a means of travel to Lake Champlain and was often appreciated by the Abenaki for its fresh fish and fertile topsoil provided to the surrounding floodplain. Once respected as a vital resource by the Abenaki, the Winooski River, and adjacent land was left damaged after the land’s conquest by European colonists. Following the colonists’ arrival, massive deforestation took place, uprooting the vitality of this natural area by fragmenting habitats and harvesting large arrays of nutrient-depleting crops. This sudden change in the land composition marked catastrophe; much of the land’s topsoil was eroded, displaced into the Winooski, and deposited elsewhere, changing the layout of the land entirely. From this deposition of sediments formed McKenzie Park, among other features along the river.
As we work towards developing a more holistic relationship with the land, it’s important to consider how drastically we’ve altered the landscape in the past. Through the regeneration of the floodplain forest, which takes place alongside sustainable agricultural practices, we aid in the land’s ability to eventually heal itself. We will always have a valued relationship with this land, and it’s important to realize the role we play in maintaining its wellbeing, as we look forward to a greener spring.
Citations:
Beckett, S., & Ford, S. (2016, December 3). McKenzie Park. https://enjoyburlington.com/mckenzie-parkland/.
Berrizbeitia, I. Focal Places in Burlington. Burlington Geographic. https://www.uvm.edu/place/burlingtongeographic/focalplaces/intervale.php.