A UVM blog Phenology Blog

Posts

Springtime at Centennial!

By vleda

On Tuesday (April 13th), some friends and I ventured to Centennial Woods. Because of the nice weather, we decided to explore more than usual. We ended up walking around the woods for over two hours. We began by following the trail and slowly drifting off of it.

We found a spot nearby the trail that had a deer bones. The bones were covered in moss.

We found a ribcage covered in moss!

And a leg bone with some fur and the hoof still in tact!

We walked towards a nearby stream shortly after.

It was super muddy out! Wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty for a trip like this. After getting our shoes and legs covered in dirt and mud, we started our search for amphibians. And…

Success! It’s a bit hard to see in the photo above, but there’s a green frog sitting in the river. My friend Erin tried to catch it but it jumped out of their hands as we predicted.

We also found some other fun things in and next to the stream like…

A waterbug!

A little plant with a snail living on it!

Flowers!

And even more flowers!

Being content with our findings, we moved deeper into the woods. Eventually, we found a spot that had a ton of raccoon and dog tracks!

The little paw prints are so cute!

We kept walking until we found this beautiful spot, where the light seemed to hit the trees in the most perfect way. It was very relaxing to sit there and listen to the birds sing (and trust me there was a lot of them singing throughout my whole walk!). I wasn’t able to identify any of them since I don’t know much about bird calls yet and I didn’t see any myself.

We ended our walk with one last sight to behold before we headed back the way we came…a bunch of huge trees that fell over!

It was so strange seeing so many thick, old roots above ground. The soil the trees had been sitting on was lifted up and it reminded me of a huge carpet.

It was a beautiful day and a very fun little adventure!

Animal tracks, Crows, and Cold Fun! Oh my! (1st Post of Spring Semester 2021)

By vleda

Oh, Centennial Woods, how I missed you. With February’s cold weather at its peak, Centennial is absolutely covered in snow. I definitely fell a few times because of the ice and snow during my two hikes through the woods (but I didn’t spill my Yerba!).

I changed the location of my phenology spot for this semester to a part of Centennial Woods that’s a bit closer to the trail. When you follow the trail, you should eventually see a large clearing surrounded by trees. The area around this clearing is my new spot. I went both up the hill next to the area (to the right of the path) and the area to the left of the path. Both of these areas are easy to get to because they’re near the path, but far enough that there’s still a chance of spotting animals and tracks.

On my first hike a few days ago, I was unable to find any evidence of animals, but I didn’t give up! In my experience with Centennial last fall, I saw squirrels in the day and when my friends would convince me to visit the woods at night (usually a bad idea) we’d hear bats. Today, I ventured back into the woods and heard the biggest murder of crows above. As much as I looked and looked for animal droppings/tracks I couldn’t find any to my disappointment. However, I did find one strange track. It was a straight line the dragged through the snow for quite a bit. Whether it was a dog’s leash dragging through the snow, a wild animal, or somebody’s item that left the mark is unclear.

That’s all I have to share for now! Here’s to a new semester of woodland fun! 🙂

Final Blog Post

By vleda

Welcome! As the semester comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on the knowledge I’ve gained on my phenology spots. My phenology spots were in Centennial Woods, so today I’m going to be going over what I’ve learned about Centennial Woods.

Centennial Woods formed when an ice sheet carved out its topography and left glacial till behind. Before the University of Vermont began to manage it, the woods were used by the Abenaki, the indigenous people of Vermont. Since then, Centennial Woods has come under the management of the University of Vermont. Many students at UVM use Centennial Woods as a means to study nature, myself included, and professors include Centennial Woods in their teachings. The university implemented new rules to conserve the woodland area after gaining management. The woods were previously used as dumping grounds for the school of medicine/ hospital. Human remains would often be disposed of in the area. In addition to this, some parts of the woods were used for ROTC training. There are many places in Centennial Woods where humans’ presence can be detected. While following the main path, you can find a stone wall, barbed wire, and powerlines. Many times while hiking through Centennial Woods, I would find other evidence, such as litter and hiking gear that’s been left behind. These aren’t the only new changes to the woods. The presence of Norway Maple and Sugar Maple trees is relatively new and shows us the changes in Centennial Woods’ land usage. Both of these trees have a lifespan of about a hundred years, which is pretty short.

I hope to be able to learn more about Centennial Woods and other natural areas in Vermont during the rest of my time as a student at UVM. I’ve enjoyed both NR001 and this semester in general, and can’t wait until the spring semester. Parting is such sweet sorrow. See you soon!

New Spot at Home, Fort Greene Park

By vleda

When I’m not at UVM, I live in Brooklyn, New York. I live right next to Fort Greene Park, which is located in downtown. This park is the closest natural area for me.

Here are some maps of the area

How does the park compare to my phenology spot?

My phenology spot in Centennial woods is very different from Fort Greene Park. The first noticeable difference between them is the size. Fort Greene Park is 30.2 acres (12.2 ha), while Centennial Woods is 65 acres. There’s much more to explore in Centennial, which is how I stumbled upon my phenology spots. My spots have streams running underneath or around them. However, there are no streams in the park. The majority of Fort Greene Park are concrete trails and grass. My phenology spots in Centennial Woods, however, have dirt trails leading up to them and multiple types of plants. Fort Greene park does have multiple kinds of trees, including trees that we learned about in NR001 this semester. Examples include red oaks, sugar maples, and eastern white pines. There are nineteen different kinds of trees in Fort Greene Park. There are only some small trees at my phenology spots. Since Fort Greene Park is in a much more urban area, it does not feel as close to nature as Centennial Woods does. The moment you enter Centennial Woods you feel like you’re really in nature with dirt trails and a trailhead sign. However, Fort Greene’s entrance is simply some concrete stairs leading to concrete trails and grass. The park also has tennis courts where athletes can practice.

Why is it special to me?

Although the park itself isn’t much different from any other park in New York City, it’s history makes it interesting to me. The park was originally a site for forts built for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, which is how it got its name. After the War of 1812, the community around it started using the land as public space and it eventually became the park we know today. I’ve lived in the Fort Greene area for eleven years, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the park. I’ve gone on runs, walked my dog, hung out with friends, and gone on dates in the park. When I was in elementary school and middle school, I would have to pass through the park to go to school and back home. It’s not my favorite place in Brooklyn, but it is a place I often go to.

Here are some pictures of Fort Greene Park

Getting to Know the Area (Introduction)

By vleda

Welcome! In order to get to my locations, we’ll have to take a walk through other parts of Centennial Woods first. All the pictures here are from a hike I took on October 21st. First, we’ll start at the entrance to Centennial Woods. From there, we need to follow the main path until we see a clearing with two paths. We’re going to take the path that goes straight, towards the stream. We’re going to continue on this path until the path splits apart once more. Once we see this fork in the road, we’re going to take the path that leads straight forward, which will lead us to some wooden boards on the ground. Now, we’re going to take the path to the left. While walking during this part, you’re going to want to watch your step since it’s easy to lose your balance from the steepness of it. I know because I fell during this part of my journey the first time.

We’re almost at our first location!

All we have to do now is finish walking down the steep banks and voila! We’ve found the bridge! Surrounding the bridge are tall plants that look like wheat or corn, but aren’t. There are also some small trees nearby. I don’t recommend coming here on a rainy day. It’s very slippery! That being said here are some pictures I took on a rainy day on the bridge.

I definitely look forward to returning to this location in the springtime to see how the water levels of the stream change.

On to our next stop!

Now that we’ve explored the bridge thoroughly, let’s hit the road again! We’re just going to go back up to the path we came from. We’re then going to follow the path further away from where we came and go down a small hill.

We’ve arrived!

This area is very flooded, so I hope you’re wearing waterproof shoes! There are some logs you have to step over to get to the rest of the bridge. The entire area looked gloomy because it was a rainy October day, but I still enjoyed it. The water at this location was completely still, unlike the one we visited beforehand. There are plenty of plants growing in and around the water. They definitely can withstand lots of water.

Congratulations! You’ve finished the hike!

Now that we’ve finished viewing both of the locations, the only thing left to do is go back the way we came towards Centennial Woods’ entrance.

My Locations: Centennial Beaver Dam and Bridge

By vleda

The locations I chose were a bridge above a small stream and the beaver dam in Centennial Woods. Both of these locations are relatively close to each other. Rather than choosing one location, I chose the two of these because of the similarities they hold and how close they are to one another. The blue marker shows the location of the area.

Posted in
Skip to toolbar