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Blog Post 1: Observations
Your initial post will describe the area that you have selected to observe. Give a brief physical description of the study area. Include its approximate size and location, and a general picture of its topography (i.e., canyon, flat, rolling hills, mountain slope, river bottom, etc.), vegetation (this can be very coarse, for example forested, grassland, wetland, city street with ornamental trees and shrubs, etc.), and designation, if any (i.e., Provincial or City park, golf course, etc.). Also note, when and at what time you visited the site and give an indication of weather and seasonality. Think about potential subjects that you might want to study for your research project. Based on your observations, list three questions that are interesting or striking and could form the subject of your research project. Support the descriptions above with images from your field journal (if you’re using paper and pen, scan your pages; if you’re using digital technology, save your files and submit those).
The area that I selected to observe is an approximately 1km trail that cuts through forested areas, disturbed areas and open field. It is located in the town of Little Current Ontario, on Manitoulin Island. The portion of the trail that I observed is about a minute walk from my house to the trail entrance, so I use it quite frequently. On the day of my last visit, September 21, the day was sunny and warm (18c) with little breeze. The time was approximately 11am.
The trail cuts across public forested land and borders private land. The stretch of trail I was on, is a portion of a large island wide trail system for hiking/ATV/snow mobile trail.
There has been an increase in human traffic this year as workers have been digging up land along the trail. It appears to be related to the hydro poles that cut through the area. Trucks, excavators, and backhoes have been down the trail. This area is generally underutilized, and my family is often the only people on the trail at any given time, with at most one or two other people crossing our path. They are commonly walking their dogs.
Several questions came to mind when observing the area. The poison ivy in the area was of particular interest however, as I am just recovering from over a month of discomfort associated with a large poison ivy rash that I obtained in that area.
Firstly, I had never noticed poison ivy growing along the trail in previous years, other than maybe an odd plant or patch of plants but now the area is covered in copious amounts- why?
Secondly, I wondered why the coverage is almost completely on one side of the trail.
Thirdly, I wondered if the increase this year is related to the workers activities.
