My last visit to my phenology site was again a little bittersweet. It was so nice to see how green and bright my spot has gotten, but I was sad that this marked the end of my visits. Since my last visit, all the snow has melted, and so many plants have started blooming. Centennial Woods is full of signs of spring, and it is very exciting to see (I’m pretty ready for some warm weather). When I visited, it was a beautiful and sunny day around 55 degrees out. It was a little muddy on my walk down, but not as bad as I was expecting. I hung out at my phenology site for about 20 minutes, enjoying the sun, and then slowly made my way back to campus. I will miss these phenology assignments because they always give me good, stress-relieving time outside.
My phenology site sits on stolen Abenaki land. It is a place where culture once flourished, and it has a strong history. NR 02 allowed me to learn about this culture—how they lived with the lang and had such a mutually beneficial relationship to it—which is something I am very thankful for. Today, Centennial Woods is used as a space for recreation, but it has the potential for being so much more. It could be used to educate so many people on the history of Burlington land and could increase awareness regarding local Indigenous People. A simple land acknowledgement at the trailhead would change so much, and I hope that in the future it is a step that UVM choses to take.
I do consider myself a part of my phenology site, especially as a local member of the Burlington Community. The health of the land there is in the hands of the surrounding community, which I have been a part of my whole life. I think that everyone in the UVM community is a part of local places like Centennial Woods because of the potential impact we can have on it’s health and it’s future.
