My spot for my Phenology Project is in Centennial Woods. To get here, you go to the entrance of Centennial Woods. Take the main path along to small bridges until you reach the water. Continue up the small hill under the Northern Red Cedar until you reach a small clearing where the central tree is an Eastern Hemlock. This is a large clearing where you can either go left down a hill or to a fork in the path to the right. The left fork goes down the hill towards the water again and the right path continues up the hill. Go left until you get close to the water, which is on the left of the path. This is my location, pictured below. The central tree is an Eastern White Pine, also pictured below.
Many of the trees in this area are matured, making it difficult for many young trees to grow. This is because the mature trees block the sunlight above, so the young trees cannot grow and will most likely die off. The area is heavily populated with mature coniferous trees. This also makes the soil more acidic because of the dead needles, making the soil less hospitable for small woody plants to grow. This being said, the young trees in the area appear to be mainly coniferous. There are very few small woody plants in my area.
Close to my central tree are three more Eastern White Pines. There is also a yellow birch tree. Also worth noting is that there are dead trees that have naturally died because they grew to old, not because they were cut down. This is a very natural area that have been minimally affected by humans. The radius of the area around my tree that I studied recently is quite small, leading to a lack of diversity in tree species as well as small woody plants in the area. Soon I will be returning to gain an understanding of the larger area surrounding my central tree.
I chose this area because of the natural beauty. It is close enough to campus where it is easily accessible and not far off the path where I may not be able to find it again. I liked how the water naturally flowed close to my site so I could include it in the picture and see how it may also change with the seasons.
Here is the link to my Phenology Assignment Location. I will also attach a picture in case the link doesn’t work. 
