Gadowski’s Phenology Blog

As the seasons have changed, my sense of place in Centennial Woods has changed. When I first went there, I saw it as a lush green place with lots of birds and other living things. Now, I see it more as a quiet place with lots of dead plant life and not many birds. It just does not seem as much of an “alive” place now. 

In terms of the larger Burlington area, Centennial Woods is just a small part of it. When I first went to the forest, I did not really know where Centennial Woods was relative to the rest of the campus and surrounding Burlington. Now, I know exactly where it is and what surrounds it. Knowing the exact location makes the forest seem smaller. I also see it as a quieter place on campus and in Burlington. It’s an area to take a break from the urban community without having to travel very far. 

Centennial Woods has gone through a lot of change over time. It began as being used as agricultural land, then it was used by the medical school. When the medical school used it, cadavers were buried on the property. After that period, ROTC at UVM used it as a firing range. Now it is used as a research forest and a recreation area. Throughout time, many different people have had very different senses of place at Centennial Woods. For example, I would have a very different sense of place of the forest (as a recreational area) from people who knew it as a burial place for cadavers in the early 20^th century. Currently, people on campus and in Burlington most likely see Centennial Woods as a place to do research for school or a place to do activities like running or hiking.   

  The photo displayed below of the entrance of Centennial Woods shows how dead all of the plants are now. When I first visited the area, it was very lush and green. 

Field notes: 

Today I visited Centennial Woods again. Since my last visit, it has gotten a lot colder and the trees have lost all of their leaves. I visited later in the day as the sun was setting and it was only about 45 degrees. The wind was also fairly strong. There is much less green than last time I was here. The leaves are now all on the ground and there is not as much greenery on the forest floor. Many bushes and small trees still have some leaves, but they are shades of orange, red, and brown. There is still some green grass and green low-growing plants like ferns. Moss also covers many of the rocks, trees, and bridges around the streams. I noticed a lot of large mushrooms on trees as well. 

The soil was muddy due to the flash flooding the night before. The brook was a chocolate-brown color and had a very heavy flow. Around the banks of the brook, it was all washed out. There is not much plant life on certain parts of the banks to hold it together and prevent heavy erosion. 

I did not see much in the way of wildlife. I didn’t notice any insect life, most likely because it has frosted since my last visit. I didn’t hear many birds or see many squirrels either. Most of the moving organisms I saw were just other people and dogs.

The photos I took were of a maple tree, moss, ferns, paper birch, some type of weed, a pine tree. These are all living organisms that are plentiful in Centennial Woods, so they represent the forest. There are a variety of trees in the forest, including many maple, pine, and birch. Most of the plants that were still green were the weeds and ones like the ferns. There was also a lot of moss in the forest, especially in wet areas.