For the four day inaturalist BioBlitz, I explored areas of Burlington that I am both familiar with, such as the downtown waterfront and UVM campus, and less familiar with, such as Rock Point and the Intervale. I really enjoyed using inaturalist because it was fun to challenge myself and see what wildlife I could identify. …
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End of the Year Visit
Changes over Time Over my first year at UVM, I have seen Crescent Woods change over time; both phenologically and due to the impact of outside forces. Phenologically, I have noticed the biggest changes in the understory., where understory flowers have started budding and blooming, saplings have grown taller and now have buds of their …
Exploring the Seasons Through a Single Tree Part 3
My visit to Crescent Woods today to check on my good old American beech tree was incredibly restorative, necessary, relaxing, and tranquil. It was a gorgeous, sunny day; warm enough to wear shorts without a chill. The first thing I noticed when I entered the woods was the lack of wet, squelching mud that was …
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Exploring the Seasons through a Single Tree Part 2
For my Phenology assignment this week, I took another trip to Crescent Woods on a beautiful, sunny, forty degree day. Immediately I noticed that most of the snow in Crescent Woods melted leaving behind (surprise surprise) a lot of mud. Lets just say wearing white shoes was not the smartest move on my behalf. Despite …
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Exploring the Seasons through a Single Tree: Part 1
For my phenology project this week, I took a nice walk to Crescent woods in pursuit of a tree I could easily find again in order to measure how this tree changes as the winter progresses. I ended up finding and American Beech Tree that caught my eye because this particular tree had a thinner …
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Burlington Wildlife Signs!
This week, I took a journey to Centennial woods in pursuit of wildlife signs to contribute to the “Wildlife signs in Burlington Project” on inaturalist. Due to the icy conditions of the trail it was a challenging hike. I certainly wish I had brought spikes! Despite the melting snow, I was able to record some …
Crescent in January: Snow, Ice, Evergreens, and Animal Tracks
Phenological Changes The first phenological difference I noticed during my January visit to Crescent Woods was of course…the snow! Despite the the lack of colorful foliage, the thick blanket of bright white snow covering the ground and resting heavily on bare tree branches brought a serene beauty to the woods. Pops of dark green appeared …
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Crescent in December
Foliage Crescent has been through significant changes since I last visited the woods in mid-fall. Almost all of the deciduous trees in Crescent have lost their leaves entirely. However, some of the American beech trees and Norway Maples have stubbornly held on to their foliage. The leaves still remaining on these trees have become discolored, …
Honorable Harvest: Giving Back
In honor of Thanksgiving and inspired by the Honorable Harvest chapter of Braiding Sweet Grass, I wanted to give a gift to the forest that I grew up exploring and that gave me so much. My Aunt had recently purchased some butterfly paper- biodegradable paper shaped like butterflies with wildflower seeds contained inside. I thought …
Thanksgiving Phenology Spot: Sligo Creek Park
It was very cathartic coming home and visiting the park I grew up spending time in. I was very luckily to live so close to such a beautiful natural area that truly fostered and encouraged my love for wildlife. It was also really amazing to see visit Sligo Creek with my newfound knowledge of ecological …
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