by Nick Bachand
This map can be followed from the Aiken center to a trailhead by the Catamount parking lot. From there the trail can be followed North East to the Centennial Brook. My primary area of focus is right above the “C” in Centennial Brook on the map, where the forested part of the brook becomes more marsh-like.
I chose Centennial Brook for my phenology blog because after visiting Centennial Woods I was impressed by the natural beauty and ecological diversity of the relativley small natural area in an otherwise heavily developed area of Burlington. I’ve returned a few times since and all time i’ve spent there has been peaceful, but also thought provoking. The processes of Centenntial Brook and its role as a local watershed especially intrigued me.
Cenntenial Woods is comprised of both conifer and hardwood stands. As you walk the trails you will see plenty of sugar, red, and striped maples. As well as an abundance of Eastern White Pines. Oaks, Black Cherry, Common Buckthorn, green ash, and some birches can also be found. Ferns and other smaller vegetation provide a thick cover on the forest floor. I will have to explore further how the diversity of trees and plants changes getting closer to the brook.
September 22nd, 2023
On Friday, September 22nd I spent almost three hours exploring Centennial Woods and the Brook. I took this opprotuinity to feel out the area and explore anything that caught my eye. The weather agreed it was still Summer, sunny and clear. Here are some photos and videos documenting my walk:
October 14th, 2023
On Saturday, October 14th I returned to Cenntenial Woods with a couple of friends to observe the area’s transition from Summer to Fall. It was a sunny day, but slightly chillier than my last walk around Centennial in September. I noticed drastic changes in the foliage, with rich and vibrant fall colors on full display. I noticed the brook had increased water levels, probably due to the heavy rainfall during this week. Centennial Brook serves as a local watershed for the surrounding urbanized area, which is heavily comprised of impervious surfaces, increasing levels of runoff into the brook.
November 12th, 2023
36° F, Overcast, 2:30pm
On Sunday, November 12th, I visited Centennial Woods and its brook again. The transition of the woods from Fall to Winter was on full display. Foliage and ground covering had decreased significatly. The woods seemed dark and grey. Much of the life I had observed in early trips during warmer months had subsided. The woods had become quiet, except for the occasional bird chirp and the flow of the running brook.
I drew this map of Centennial Brook and important sites i’ve been consistently visiting. Along with some photos from my walk.
Thoughts while sitting at my spot:
As I sat on a broken, wooden stool at the brook’s edge, I began to listen closley for any intresting sounds of life. I didn’t hear much. A few indiscriminate bird chirps at first. Squirrels breaking branches above my head. The continous running of the brook over logs and rocks. At first I was a little bit dissapointed by the overall lack of variation in sounds, but I began to appreciate this as the sound of the transition to winter. It reminded of the greater area of urbanized Burlington, outside of the woods, quieting down as the temperture drops. Once warm and lively, now people walk with quiet intention from building to building.
Thanksgiving Break Phenology Spot Comparison
Bound Brook Island Beach, Wellfleet, Massachusetts
This spot’s ecology and phenology differs compleltey from my spot at Centennial Woods. These dunes, part of Cape Cod’s National Seashore, are placed on the shore of Cape Cod Bay. The sandy dunes are suprisingly pretty heavily vegetated year round. The flat areas in front of the dunes and behind them were actually recently deforested, I am not sure as to why. The dune’s vegetation is mostly comprised of small bushes and beachgrass, with some smaller conifers (mainly pitch pines) at lower levels. Common plants include American Beachgrass and Dunegrass, Northern Bayberry, Beachheather, along with many other waxy bushes and grasses. I think this ecosystem is incredibly special and intresting. For plants to be able to survive the harsh conditions of being on the open, sand dunes right by the ocean. The plants are so dense and abundant, especially on these particular dunes, and you really can’t find them anywhere else. Animal life is mainly comprised of smaller nesting birds, but you’ll also see the occasional coyote or deer track on the beach.
December 7th, 2023
24° F, Fog/sun, 12:00pm
On Thursday, December 7th I visted Centennial Woods for the last time this semester. It was amazing to see just how much the landscape and foliage had changed since my first visit in September and even from my last visit in early November. In September the vitality of the woods was on display, active and green, with signs of life and interactione every where you looked. Now, in December, you have to look much closer and attentivley to discover signs of life. Nearly all the hardwood trees have lost their foliage and saplings and ferns are depressed by a light blanket of snow. On the other hand, the confiers of Centennial stood out from the otherwise bare woods. Their green fullness makes it seem like they are enjoying the begining of winter. Moss and mushrooms join the snow in covering the forest floor and tree bases. Less signs of animal life were on display. Bird calls and sightings were fewer. I did see some animal tracks on a tree trunk that had fallen across the brook at a tall point. I couldn’t identify the tracks, but whatever animal made them seemed to be using the trunk to cross such as I was. The brooks itself still flowed strongly, but in some spots icicles formed off branches partly submerged in the stream.
My favorite aspect of my phenology is spot in Centennial Woods is the constant aspects of change and life that are able to be observed. Everything can be viewed generally or more closley, and at ever aspect of viewing life can be seen. The closer I look, the more I understand and the more questions I have. For being not that large of a natural area, I can easily spend hours in Centennial. There is always something new and mysterious to witness, especially as the seasons change. As I visit the same locations within my spot each month I feel more familiar, even with their drastic changes. I have enjoyed bringing my friends along with me on my walks and I’ve enjoyed the peace that can be found just sitting in the woods right outside of campus.
January 29th, 2024
32° F, Overcast, 3:00pm
This was my first trip back to Cenntenial Woods since the second semester has started. There was more snow on the ground and less leaves in the trees. A layer of ice paved almost all of the trails, making my walk quite treacherous. Slow and thin parts of the brook have turned to ice, while the wider areas have gained more water and eroded parts of the bank. The woods were very almost silent, except for the sound of flowing water and the occasional crow.
Febuary 18th, 2024: Winter Wildlife Signs Observations
For this assignment I chose to return to Centennial Woods. There was a lot of snow coverage and some areas of mud which helped with the opprotunity to spot tracks. Along the trails there was a lot of human and dog tracks from people taking walks in the woods. But off the trails and even on frozen parts of the brook, covered by snow, I found some animal tracks. Down by the brook I found some raccoon tracks, some in the snow and some in mud. I’ve gotten very familiar with these tracks as they look like little human hands. In the woods, I found a lot of sets of squirrel tracks. I decided these to be Gray Squirrel tracks, consdiering in all my visits to Centennial Woods, including this one, I have only seen Gray Squirrels as this is their preffered enviroment over the Red Squirrels. On my way back from Centennial Woods I encountered Cottontail Rabbit tracks. After following these with my eyes for a second I also encountered the rabbit itself! Also, I encounterd what I believed to be perhaps a coyote, but it could also have been a red fox. It was dark and I was a decent distance away from it. It seemed to be searching the snow with its nose and paws. The iNaturalist app was easy to navigate and upload pictures to. Also it was cool to see everyone elses recordings throughout Burlington.
March 25th, 2024
Returning to Centennial Woods following the Vernal Equinox, remains of the passing Winter and the budding new Spring were on display. A thick layer of snow still blankets the woods and in some parts ice still covers the brook. Yet today was warm and sunny and there were signs of Centennial Woods coming back to life. Frequent and diverse bird calls were heard throughout the woods. The brook’s waters run high and strong due to melted snow running off into the stream. Various trees have began to bud.
April 28th, 2024 – City Nature Challenge
During the iNaturalist BioBlitz I explored areas on campus and also returned to Centennial Woods. It was a rainy Sunday, but the sun started to come out towards the end of my walk around Centennial. The morning’s rain carried the smell of flowering trees and fresh evergreen in the air. The leaf litter was damp and compressed, but ferns, mushrooms, and other growths still emerged from the ground. I encountered Norway Maples, flowering in bright yellow. I also spotted a young Gray Squirrel, a pair of Robins, and some Crows. The two species that I found that I spent the most time observing were a Pileated Woodpecker and a tremendous Yellow Birch that was growing directly out of the base of another fallen tree. I also came across a silly dog playing in the brook. Since the last time I was here in late March, when there was still snow on the ground, it seems Spring has finally taken hold and is slowly returning the green and life familiar to these woods. I enjoyed using iNaturalist. It was helpful having suggestions for species I was unsure about and it was cool to see what other species people had found in the same area. I did have some trouble adding my observations to the lab’s shared project, but I think I was able to figure this issue out (maybe?). It was crazy to see nearly two million observations coming from all over the globe in the wider City Nature Challenge! I think what I found most intresting was just the immense variety of participation, geographically and with the species people were making observations on.
May 1st, 2024 – Closing Post
For my final visit to Centennial Woods I joined my friend Alec to go observe birds at a few different spots where feeders were hung for his biology lab. This was a really cool visit, getting to interact with an activity from another class that also is utilizing Centennial Woods as an area of natural learning. It was also a beautiful, sunny Spring day. I heard a much greater abundance and variety of bird calls than when I visited just a few days earlier. We sat down by one of the feeders that was set up by the creek for about fifteen minutes. We saw and heard so much bird activity in the trees and shrubs around the feeder.
Here is a list of birds we saw and detected using the Merlin app.
Having visted Cenntenial Woods on a regular basis for the past two semesters it has been really intresting to see how the woods have changed through out the seasons. When I first started visiting Centennial it was the end of the summer and the woods were still green and teeming with life. As Fall began and the temperatures decreased, the leaves began to turn orange and yellow and soon they fell. Later Winter moved in, periodically blanketing the ground in snow and the brook in ice. When I returned to the woods after winter break Centennial was very quiet and still. Now, Spring has been slowly returning light and life back into the woods. Birds have returned and tree buds have turned to new leaves and flowers. Through these changing seasons the brook’s water levels and turbidity have altered as drastically as the weather. There were four main locations I made sure to visit every time I returned to Centennial Woods. Referring to my map from November, my four main spots were a log that went across a wide part of the brook. This is where I usually started my walks, crossing the brook to the other side. Next i’d visit a large fallen pine, covered in moss, that stretched out over the brook. I used this spot to compare phenological changes throughout the seasons earlier in the blog. Next i’d cross the brook again to my favorite spot in the whole woods, the two wooden chairs and table sitting on the bank. Here I would sit, scetch, journal, and sometimes meditate listening to the stream flow. The chairs and table placed there in the middle of the woods, for people to sit and enjoy the scenery. The last spot i’d visit is at the northern end of Centennial Woods, where the woods turn to more of a marshy area. Here you can hang out on the bridge or keep walking through the woods towards Winooski. Nature and culture have intertwined at Centennial Woods. One of the most popularly visited natural areas in the Burlington area and an important educational area for UVM and other local students. People use these woods for all different types of recreation: running, walking their dog, hammocking, etc. Many different classes at UVM (including this one) have you visit these woods for different purposes. It’s always intresting and cool to see the great array of people that enjoy the woods. From talking with people who have spent time in Centennial it’s clear these woods mean a lot to them too and are very special. I know for me personally it is always enjoyable to return to Centennial Woods and theres a sense of comfort in its familiarity. I reminisce on the other times I visited with my friends and the intresting things i’ve discovered. Walking and sitting in Centennial always brings me a sense of peace, a step outside the busy works of school and life. I feel deeply connected to these woods and I feel apart of them. I think everyone who visits is apart of Centennial because you are interacting with the natural and and social community within its trees. I can’t wait to keep visiting Centennial with old and new friends in my next few years here and to continue to see how the woods change with time.
Final note: Thanks for reading my blog! It has been a lot of fun visiting my spot and making this blog throughout the past two semesters. I feel like this assignment has really developed my sense of place and belonging. I am excited to apply what i’ve learned from this process and this class to familiar natural areas back home this summer.