For my new spot during break I stayed at a friends house at Oak Island, North Carolina where we visited the nature center at the Memorial Waterway Park.
This place is very accessible and it provides a natural area for those who want to go out in nature. At the Memorial Waterway Park there is a sign that shows the different types of leaves in the area. There are also signs along the trail that help identify the plant and animal species that are commonly found in the area. Towards the middle of the park there are two small gardens and throughout the park there are multiple bird feeders. Towards the end of the park there is dock where people can spend time at and overlook the water.
Plant species at Memorial Waterway Park:
- red cedar
- magnolia
- red maple
- short leaf pine
- post oak
- sugar maple
- muscadine grape
- ladder fine
- black cherry
Animal Species at Memorial Waterway Park:
- great blue heron
- snowy egret
- gray squirrel
- blue jay
- red-tailed hawk
- red cardinal
- common loon
The phenology of the Memorial Waterway Park is different than the phenology of Centennial Woods. At the Memorial Water Park, it does not get as cold as it does in Vermont so there is less of a change. The plants in the area do not change colors like the trees do at Centennial Woods and there is leaf litter on the ground but not as much as there is in Centennial Woods. The plants at the Memorial Waterway Park did look like they were dying a little bit but that was only a small portion of the plants, most of them looked healthy and alive. To give back to nature, I picked up trash in the area and also made sure there wasn’t anything destroyed such as the garden.
