Exploring Trinity Woods – October 14, 2024

Trinity woods is a woody forest located on the Trinity Campus of UVM, specifically behind Mercy Hall. There is an entrance to the trail off of the path that starts at Farrell Hall and leads down to the Back Five. This trail follows the entirety of the forest and eventually exits behind Delehanty Hall. As a resident of McAuley Hall, I am able to easily access the trail by exiting the back door and walking across the lawn to the entrance. The walk throughout takes about five minutes, but there are lots of different species to see. It is a nice contrast to the urban Burlington and a convenient place of natural sanctuary on campus. I chose the woods as my location for my phenology project because it is easily accessible to me, but also fascinates me. From my dorm I can hear the loud traffic of Colchester Avenue at almost all times, but once I go into these woods, the sounds are drowned out. As someone who lives deep in the woods back home, it was a big change to be living in a suburban area. Having this forest essentially in my back yard reminds me a lot of home and gives me a place to relax when I need it. Over the next months, I will be exploring the common vegetation that grows in these woods and how they change alongside the changing seasons in Burlington, Vermont.

Location of Trinity Woods

Common Vegetation

This forest, a northern hardwood forest, contained many commonly found trees in Vermont. I noticed many Red Maples, Eastern White Pines, Paper Birches, and American Beeches throughout my first exploration. I also noticed some other not-so-common trees growing here like Alternate-Leaved Dogwoods Other shrubs found growing alongside the path contained Common Buckthorn. All of these trees still contain their green color and have yet to start changing unlike some of the other trees surrounding the outside perimeter of the woods. The trees grew unevenly and spread out, with the Paper Birches commonly sprinkled throughout the Beeches and Maples.