Program Overview
During this 5-day intensive, you’ll learn to tease out the rich stories written in the fabric of Vermont’s unique landscape. It’s a story written in stone walls, old apple trees, sprawling oak trees, and valleys carved into sandy banks. Using a mix of field trips, hands-on science activities, and lectures, you’ll learn the tools and develop the capacity to weave together the stories in your own backyard (and schoolyard) and the confidence to share these skills with your students.
If you are taking the course for graduate credit, you will also need to register through Castleton: link.
Syllabus for the course
Use the sections below to find due dates for assignments, readings for each weak (readings are listed on the day they are due), and lots of supplemental resources. Please note that there are several required assignments for participants earning graduate credit that are optional for all other participants.
Pre-class
Because the class is an intensive, there are a few assignments and readings that you’ll need to do in preparation for our first class.
Assignments:
- Tourist Test: please read the instructions. Do this before doing any of the readings, bring to our first day of class
- Tree species profile (due by Day 1)
- Sign up for your trees to profile here
Read the following by Monday:
- Wetland Woodland Wildland (pp 1-28, 36-43, 58-81)
- Optional: Reading the Forested Landscape by Tom Wessels (Introduction + Ch 1-7)
- Browse the Course Content folder.
Help identifying trees
- iNaturalist.org (see where your tree grows)
- Sylvics of North America (help with ecology of your tree)
- Virginia Tech Tree ID (help with what your tree looks like)
- Tree ID with Donald Leopold (podcast)
Intro to Class + Hazards + Bedrock Geology
July 18, 2022
We’ll dive right in on our first day, exploring the basics of natural history and outline the bedrock story of Vermont. We’ll head out into the field to look at bedrock in a couple of different places, including a cave!! And of course we’ll talk about hazards of being in the field (like mosquitoes, poison ivy, and ticks). We strongly suggest wearing a light long-sleeve layer and pants to keep away mosquitoes.
Location: We will meet at the St Mark’s Youth Center (1271 North Ave) and then head to our field sites (Salmon Hole in Burlington and then the Lamoille Cave – see map below for field sites)
Lecture:
Read for today:
- Natural History of Vermont Mountains by Nancy Bazilchuk (PDF)
Handouts:
- Tree ID (leaves .DOC)
- Poison Ivy
Assignments Due Today:
- Tourist Test
- Tree Species Profile (You will choose 1 species from this list to present on)
Other resources: As general references in natural history, the following are wonderful resources
- Google Earth
- VT Bedrock layers (.kmz, .kml files)
- Natural History Radio (BBC podcast)
- PBS Nature (weekly wildlife show)
- PBS Nova (weekly science show)
- Neature (hilarious)
Glaciers & Soils
July 19, 2022
No story of Vermont is complete without exploring the impact of the most recent glacial period. We’ll explore the last 100,000 years of change in Vermont’s Landcape and look out how yesterdays events influences today’s soils. Our field trip to Shelburne Bay and LaPlatte Nature Area will highlight evidence left behind by the glaciers.
Location: Shelburne Bay, LaPlatte Nature Area
Lectures: Bedrock Story & Glaciers
Presentations (description) for today:
- Acer negundo
- Pinus strobus
- Juniperus virginia
- Rhamnus cathartica
- Thuja occidentalis
- Tsuga canadensis
Read for today:
- Read The Laurentide Ice Sheet and its Significance (PDF)
- Ch 9 in Written in Stone by Chet Raymo (PDF)
Online Resources
- Web Soil Survey
- VCGI (in particular the Interactive Map Viewer)
- ANR’s Geology Page (particularly the surficial geology map)
Soils, Sediments, & Erosion
July 20, 2022
In the last 10,000 years since the glaciers retreated, the sediments they left behind have been transformed and moved around by time, water, and wind. We’ll look at topography and soils and the role they play in shaping plant communities.
Location: East Woods
Lectures:
Presentations (description) for today:
- Betula alleghaniensis
- Betula papyrifera
- Fagus grandifolia
- Fraxinus americana
- Quercus rubra
Resources:
Help identifying trees
- iNaturalist.org (see where your tree grows)
- Sylvics of North America (help with ecology of your tree)
- Virginia Tech Tree ID (help with what your tree looks like)
- Tree ID with Donald Leopold (podcast)
Handouts:
Natural Communities
July 21, 2022
Natural communities represent the confluence of disturbance, climate, soil, bedrock, and water. We’ll highlight trees as indicator species and look at patterns in assemblages of plants as we explore the natural community concept.
Presentations (description) for today:
- Acer saccharum
- Rhus typhina
- Robinia pseudoacacia
- Tilia americana
Read for today:
- Skim Wetland Woodland Wildland and bring your copy
- Skim My Neighbor’s Woods (PDF)
Resources
- VCGI (Natural Communities mapping program)
Humans + Disturbance
July 22, 2022
Our last day together is here already!! We’ll look at human disturbances to tease out how humans influence natural landscapes and what plants thrive in these types of conditions. We’ll test out our landscape interpretation skills by going to a mystery site and trying to tease out the natural history using our observation skills.
Location: Centennial Woods
Lecture:
Read for today:
- 1-24 in Time and Change in Vermont by Harold Meeks (PDF)
Suggested Readings about Abenaki and early history
- Voice of the Dawn: An autohistory of the Abenaki Nation by Frederick Wiseman
- The Original Vermonters by Haviland & Power
- The Story of Vermont: A natural and cultural history by Klyza & Trombulak
- Changes in the Land by William Cronon
- New England Forests Through Time by David Foster
Post-class
For those taking the course for graduate credit, you will need to complete the Site Analysis assignment by the Sunday following the last day of class (July 31, 2022). You can find a full description of the Site Analysis assignment here.
Assignments
All participants will be responsible for presenting on a tree species (details) on days 2, 3, or 4. You can sign up for your species here. You may also find the Tourist Test illuminating, but it is not required.
For those completing the course for graduate credit, you’ll be responsible for the tree presentation as well as the following assignments:
- Tourist Test
- Tree Species profile
- Tree presentation (select tree species here)
- Site Analysis (due 1 week after last day of class)
Resources
CROW’S PATH CONTENTAUDIO/VISUAL
WEBSITES/BLOGSYouTube SERIES |
BOOKS
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MAPS
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BOOKS
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WILDLIFE | Covers birds, mammals, and insects.
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BOOKS
FIELD GUIDES
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HUMANS ON THE LAND | Covers a mix of primitive skills, homesteading, and human impact on the land.
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BOOKS
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TOOLS | the internet is a magical wonderland of digital resources to help the budding (and professional) naturalist. These are just a few places to look. The syllabus above has many more resources specific to each week.
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