Sept 30, 2022 Nature Walk
For about half an hour from 2:45 pm to 3:15 pm, I walked around Edmand's park adjacent to Newton campus. The weather was slightly chilly with cloudy skies but it was wonderful weather to walk in. I know this because I came across many dog owners taking their daily stroll. Prior to this walk, I didn't know the park trails existed as I thought it was simply an unapproachable forest. Through the walk, I ended up seeing various plant life such as the pokeweed, conifers, and hackberry. I was drawn to them because they stood out through their color, texture, and rarity compared to the rest of the forest. In addition, I also encountered some animal life in the eastern chipmunk and supposed brown-headed thrush. Something that struck my eye during this walk was the abundance of chipmunks throughout the forest which reminded me of species evenness and relative abundance between the chipmunks and other wildlife. Eventually, I'd like to walk through another forest or park and compare the two different areas' beta diversity in terms of plants and especially chipmunks. In the end, this walk was a great experience and I can't wait to do this again soon.
