SCA/UVM Land Stewardship Program (LANDS): Counting Trees on Pease

getting into the swing of re-blazing

By Katherine Brainard

What an exciting and productive second week of LANDS it has been. With our first week of training under our belts, I think it's safe to say we were ready to be out in the field. At Pease Mountain in Charlotte, Vermont, we conducted inventories of the natural communities that compose UVM's Natural Area on the mountain. We also started re-blazing and putting up signage alongside the property boundaries, a task that had not been completed for decades. Both groups had some issues with identifying the previous blazes, for which the 1998 ice storm could be to blame as many mature trees in parts of the area were felled as a result of the extreme weather event.

Mount Philo View from Pease

It was fun to divide up the tasks as well as gain experience navigating using both GPS units and compasses. As we were bushwhacking off-trail for the majority of the tasks, it was critical that we understood our bearings and could find our location on the map at any point. The weather was not the most pleasant, with a chilly rain descending upon us for much of the week, but spirits were high nonetheless. Arriving back on campus soaking wet and smiling, we felt as hardcore as we looked.

Today, Friday the 13th, the group is in the computer lab taking a reprieve from the elements and working on individual and collaborative tasks such as report writing, loading GPS waypoints, cleaning the van and organizing gear, writing thank you notes to our partners, and blogging about our experience. Looking forward to beautiful weather over the weekend, the interns are planning to get together to support our resident musician, Lincoln, and his band Squimley and the Woolens, check out the Burlington Farmer's Market, and hopefully do some exploring around the area.