Crumbled, overgrown, and unfinished, this vandalized concrete structure is a very eye catching attraction along the path that runs through centennial woods. But how does the man made structure interact with the surrounding forest?
The Trek to the Ruins
When you enter the Centennial Woods Natural Area you are faced with a path beckoning you deeper into the woods. If you dare to continue you will cross bridges, leap over mud patches, climb over the winding roots of trees as you hike deeper. After awhile you will enter unto a small clearing with three paths shooting off into the woods, one to your right going up the hill, one to the left going down, and one directly forward. Head down the Right path and keep your eyes on the woods do your right, after you climb halfway up the path you will see a small beaten trail leading to a brightly colored cement structure, follow the path and arrive at the Ruins.
October 17th
Vegetation: The roots of the plants dig and stretch around the crumbled concrete, primary and secondary growth can be seen in the area, with moss and small woody plants growing.
Types of Plants: In addition to many small ferns and shrubby plants, the area is surrounded by paper birch, Red maple, and Eastern white pine trees.
Relaxability: Soft green mossy seats, golden sun rays piercing the trees, crisp forest air, nothing beats the Ruins when it comes to places to sit and relax in centennial woods.
November 7th
As the seasons continue to shift and change, the deciduous tree’s have almost finished dropping their leaves. Rays of sunshine pierce through the trees making the forest seem brighter and more complex despite the overstory being near empty. With the entire ground covered in leaves, the green moss and lichens, seems so vibrant when contrasted with the brown undertone of the forest. Leaves, sticks, and other debris seem to collect in the lowered section of the ruins, but considering how short of a period of light the area receives due to the ruins, I don’t know what plants will try to take advantage of the large reservoir of nutrients in the future. The water levels in centennial brook seem to have risen since the last time I was here making the river much more audible, its very calming. What wasn’t calming was noticing the seemingly extreme amount of bark that is missing from what look like otherwise healthy trees in the area. I don’t know if something changed between the first time I was here and this time, or if the additional light has just made it more noticeable.
December 10th
At this point all the trees but the coniferous trees have dropped their leaves, the spruce and white pine trees splash some much needed green into an otherwise monochromatic canopy. Despite the cold temperature there is still noticeable growth on many of the primary succession species like moss and lichens. There is noticeably more debris on on the ground, especially in the pit, there were multiple inches of piled up leaves that covered some of the art. The cycle of rain then temperatures dropping overnight causes the leaves and sticks to freeze then thaw then freeze gain, slowly breaking them down and causing many of the leaves to break apart. More bark had been ripped of nearby trees, I don’t know weather or not this is from the local wildlife but it seemed to be needless destruction by humans. Other signs that people had been there was trash on the ground, and a pile of charcoal, and new graffiti on the wall. I wonder what kind of long term effect the paint will have on the ecosystem as the wall slowly decays. As me and my group of goofballs walked into the woods something seemed off. Normally I can hear many birds when I’m in the woods and if I look at the canopy long enough I’ll see them flying around, but for some odd reason despite being in the woods for over an hour i only saw two birds. I don’t know weather or not this is just a coincidence or if something is driving away the birds, perhaps migratory patterns.