Hello again! Today was my last day in Centennial Woods for the semester, and I can’t wait to get back out there in the fall. It was a gorgeous day. It was sunny and a comfortable 60 degrees—a perfect day to hike in the woods. The leaves were finally sprouting out of the buds of the deciduous trees in the area—Red oak, White oak, Red maple, and more. Though, they were not fully out yet. There were also a lot of organic materials (leaves, pine needles, and pinecones) littering the ground replenishing the “O” layer of the soil horizon. In addition, I noticed either some Ostrich ferns or Lady ferns growing. I had never really noticed them at my spot before, so that was a cool find. There were other saplings and ferns growing around as well. I noticed a Sugar maple sapling starting to grow.

There were many birds chirping in the area, and as I was walking around, a lovely American robin crossed my path. There were also some very adorable Black-capped Chickadees flying around and hanging out on the fallen trees. In the distance I also heard the distinct sounds of a woodpecker high up in the pines. As I walked near the brook, I noticed shapes moving around in the water, and as I got closer I realized that there were a bunch of minnows swimming around. They were both swimming in the faster, rocky parts, as well as the deeper, slow moving parts of the brook. I have to say…I was a little jealous because the water felt very refreshing and the sun was glimmering off of it.

It has really been a great experience getting to know Centennial Woods better. I see a lot of connections between nature and culture here. Everywhere I look, I see interactions with the land. As humans living in this area, we have a culture of being out in our environment and interacting with it through hiking, walking, observing, and more. I’ve learned more this semester about the Abenaki knowledge and interactions with nature. They support and appreciate the environment around them, and the environment supports the people. We are inherently connected with nature, and by realizing that we can learn to better support and appreciate the natural world. By taking time in the woods to observe everything that’s around me, I feel a sense of place here. I usually disconnect from my phone/other devices during these times and really get a chance to appreciate nature’s beauty. This makes me feel even more connected to nature than before because it’s just me and the natural world; nothing is distracting me.

I can’t wait to get back to Centennial Woods next semester and grow my connection with nature.

I enjoyed participating in the City Nature Challenge. Although I was only able to go around campus on Saturday—thanks to 2nd dose vaccine side effects—I was still able to observe a lot of diversity in the small area that I was in. It was super sunny, so it was nice walking around campus observing nature. I was surprised at the amount of diverse species I observed just in the short walk from CCRH to the Waterman Green. I saw one of my favorite tree species—the Ash—while I was walking along the green. It was very mature, and I liked how the bark on it was very distinct. This was one of the only species I was able to identify though, other than dandelions and a Spruce tree. The last three pictures that I took are some of my favorite observations. I thought that they all looked very interesting even without being able to identify them myself. The first tree had some sort of dark berry growing from it, and I thought the other tree was very interesting looking with its reddish leaves. It was very apparent that spring had come; there was so much color in the plants growing around campus compared to the grayness of winter.

I enjoyed using iNaturalist because it was relatively easy joining the projects and uploading the observations. Though it was a little confusing because some of my observations disappeared (19 to 8), but other than that I thought everything was pretty straightforward. I also enjoyed how you could see the stats in each of the projects. I also enjoyed looking at the challenge globally. Currently there are 842,267 observations with 34,451 species. It was interesting looking at the map views too. Most of the observations for the United States were on the East Coast. I also looked at some other areas like Canada and the UK. Canada currently has 35,373 observations and the UK currently has 43,262.

Overall, I really enjoyed the City Nature Challenge. I think it’s a great opportunity for people all over the world to get outside and appreciate the diversity in nature. I also think it’s a really great opportunity for contributing to research and supplying images for future reference of what nature looked like today.

Update: I ended up getting 49 observations with 37 counting towards the challenge. I was able to identify 18 species as well. It was very fun getting to watch the counts for each lab group and I really loved the experience overall.

Hello again! It was a beautiful day to explore Centennial Woods. The sun was shining, and it was a nice 50 degrees outside, which was a stark contrast to the past two rainy days. The stream was flowing nicely from all of the rainfall, and it was glimmering in the sunshine. There were many birds chirping in the trees above me and I heard the pecking sounds of a woodpecker in a large Eastern white pine. Although it was too high up for me to identify, I was able to identify some other birds that crossed my path. As I was making my way to my spot a lovely American robin crossed the trail, there were some chickadees bouncing around in the bushes by the stream, and I even saw a hawk flying above. There were also some squirrels and chipmunks running around in the leaves, as well as many broken acorns (the squirrels must have eaten pretty well recently). I also noticed some new signs of spring popping out in the woods. There were some leaves coming out of a Boxelder and a Black cherry tree’s buds. I wasn’t able to snap a picture of the ones for the cherry tree, but I was able to get a picture of the new Boxelder leaves.

It was a great day out in the woods, and I hope that others can get out there to enjoy it as well.

Hello again!

On Wednesday, I visited the Burlington waterfront to get a different perspective on the phenology of Burlington. It was a chilly day with cloudy skies, and there were not many people out and about. However, I did see many human footprints along with bike paths and dog tracks.

I also found two other animal tracks. Though I’m not quite sure what the first one was exactly because some of the snow blew into the track making it hard to see its details. However, I think it belongs to some kind of small mammal. The other track belongs to a rabbit. I tried to follow its track, but it got lost when it crossed the bike path.

While I was over by the bike path I noticed very interesting looking buds on a tree. I tried to identify it with the winter twig identification sheet but I couldn’t find one that matched. Some of the other trees in the area still had leaves on them (though brown in color). In addition, the other plants on the ground were all brown, still in their winter stage.

After walking around the bike path, I went over to the waterfront. On the way I noticed that under the snow, the ground was completely covered with ice; it was almost like walking on a natural ice rink. There was a lot of ice on the water as well. Ducks and seagulls were seen resting on it. I also heard some birds chirping in the distance and watched as a few hawks flew over the water.

I remembered that during our Echo lab we walked around the park near the Rubenstein laboratory and that there were a few bird houses in the trees back there. I had hoped that I’d be able to see some birds taking shelter there, but unfortunately there were no signs of any activity.

I really enjoyed walking around the Burlington waterfront, and I’m very excited to observe the phenological changes that spring will bring in the near future.

Hello again!

Today I visited my Centennial Woods spot from fall semester. It was a beautiful day to hike out there; the sun was shining and the snow was nicely packed. With the snow, I was able to view dog tracks throughout my place. As I was exploring my area, there were at least 5 or 6 dogs that passed by, and it was a nice reminder that the Centennial Woods Natural Area brings people, and their canine friends, from all over the community to enjoy the nature around them. I also found a beautiful fluffy, gray feather as I was walking up to my spot. I’m not really sure what kind of wildlife it belonged to, but it was something cool and new to find. I also noticed that there was a large tree with many woodpecker holes lining its trunk. Some of the holes were even large enough to house small birds. I also noticed some sap dripping from the tree, which I hadn’t yet seen on my plot until now. There was also a birds nest way up high in an Eastern white pine (unfortunately I couldn’t get a picture of it as it was too high up). While I was there I heard many different birds chirping and saw some larger ones flying overhead. There weren’t many phenological changes that occurred since last time because all of the deciduous trees had already lost their leaves and become dormant. I noticed that the coniferous trees had dropped some more pinecones because they were littering the snowy ground. Also, as I had mentioned earlier, I had not seen sap coming out from any of the trees the last time I was in the woods, so I will be sure to look out for that more often. Lastly, I noticed another tree that had fallen down. Part of the trunk was still in the ground, and on top of it there was a cute little painted rock with a mitten on it.

Ingram, M. (Photographer). (2020). Untitled.

“What Makes a Lake Meromictic?” sign. New York State Parks Service, Green Lakes State Park. Viewed 29 November 2020.

“Nature’s Sculptor” sign. New York State Parks Service, Green Lakes State Park. Viewed 29 November 2020.

Tag: Centennial Woods. (2020, March 31). Retrieved December 05, 2020, from https://obscurevermont.com/tag/centennial-woods/

Univerisity of Vermont. (n.d.). The Changing Landscapes of Centennial Woods Natural Area. Retrieved December 05, 2020, from http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmsc/Centennial%20Woods/Changing_Landscapes_Centennial_Woods002.pdf

Poleman, W., & Brooks, C. (2020, December 5). Centennial Woods. Lecture presented at University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont.

It has always fascinated me how landscapes change over time and how humans drive those changes. Centennial Woods is certainly a great example of how humans changed the land around them. Prior to European settlement, the Abenaki people were living in the Burlington area (specifically near waterways like the Winooski River), and it can be inferred that they also lived/hunted in the Centennial Woods natural area. Once Europeans arrived, the landscape was changed dramatically. Many trees were cleared for farmland, and stone walls were built to keep livestock, such as sheep, in the farm boundaries. While in the lab, I observed barbed wire that was used, like the stone walls, for livestock. Today, pines and White birches are seen all around the Centennial Woods area. This is because they grow in areas where the land has been cleared, and since the woods was mostly farmland, they are some of the most abundant species in the woods. Around 1963, the South Burlington Kiwanis Ski Area opened, but unfortunately it was burned down by arsonists in 1967. The remains of the ski area can still be seen today; there are burned stumps, rusted machine gear, and a utility pole. After some time, there were growing concerns over the environment and in 1997, Centennial Woods became a protected natural area. Now, students can go into the woods for hikes and study the environment for educational purposes.

Today I visited my local state park, Green Lakes. It’s a gorgeous site with a lake, beach, hiking trails, campground, an environmental education center, and more.

Green Lake and Round Lake were carved by meltwater from glaciers in the last ice age. The water flowed over large ancient waterfalls and over time the limestone bedrock eroded away creating the large pools that the lakes now fill today. The lakes are much deeper than other lakes their size, and they are two of around 30 known meromictic lakes in the world. Meromictic lakes do not mix, so the beautiful blue-green water stays clear year round.

One of my favorite areas in the park is Dead Man’s Point. It’s home to a rare freshwater reef. The reef is a fragile ecosystem, and it sheds light on what Earth was like many years ago.

The ecology and phenology of Green Lakes is somewhat different from my place in Centennial Woods. The shore along the lake is dominated by Northern white cedars. Green ash, Red maple, Sugar maple, and Paper birch are also prominent species along the path and in the woods. The dominance of the Northern white cedar reminds me of another place in Burlington called Rock Point. However, I can see some similarities between Green Lakes and Centennial Woods with the other prominent species like the Green ash, Red maple, Sugar maple and Paper birch. The soils in Green Lakes are clay soils, while Centennial Woods’ soils are sandy and thin. In addition, Green Lakes has more basic soils, while Centennial Woods has more acidic soils. Similarly to Centennial Woods, some of the land in the park was used for agriculture years ago, and remnants of that land use history can still be seen today. However, in contrast to Centennial Woods’ younger forest due to its land use history, Green Lakes has more mature forests that were not as impacted by human land use as Centennial Woods was. Both natural areas have been affected by erosion. In Centennial Woods, there were many downed trees, especially near the brook. In Green Lakes, the hills on the sides of the path are very steep, so over time, the roots of the trees lining the path have become visible and erosion is prominent. The phenology of both sites are quite similar. In the fall, the sites have beautiful fall colors, and in the winter the deciduous trees in the sites have lost their leaves. The rotted and downed trees in both of the sites are home to small creatures and insects. Birds can be heard chirping throughout the sites during the year. Even though there are some differences between Green Lakes and Centennial Woods, I think that both places are great examples of how the natural landscape and human land use can change over time.

Green Lakes is such a unique natural area, and I hope that it can continue to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Today was truly a great day to hike in Centennial Woods. The sky was bright blue with few clouds in sight. The sun was shining onto the trees and reflecting in the brook. I really hope that some of you get the chance to spend time in the woods. It’s a really great place to take a break from work and get some fresh air.

It was another beautiful day in Centennial Woods. In the two weeks I was gone, I noticed some changes. There were more downed trees this time, especially in the area with the Red maples. The deciduous trees had little to no leaves left. There were also very few pine needles left on the Eastern white pines and Eastern hemlocks. The soil was also very moist due to the rain last night. The ground was covered in wet leaves and pines that had fallen, and in places it was hard to see where the trail was. My spot smelled of moist leaves and soils, and the air felt very fresh.

I also noticed some places where various species may live. I saw many holes going into the ground that could be home to chipmunks and other small animals. There were also many downed trees that can make a great shelter for insects and other species. I also noticed many sounds while I was out there. I heard some geese near the brook and heard many birds chirping in the trees. I also noticed a buzzing from what could’ve been a cicada.

I can’t wait to continue exploring Centennial Woods! See you next time 🙂

-Madi