3rd Nature Walk (Theme: Plants) on Chestnut Hill Reservoir

The 3rd Nature walk had a theme of plants. I decided to take a walk around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir to observe the different plants that abound in it. I did my walk on the afternoon of October 19, 2022. I started walking at 5:31 PM and finished at 6:10 PM (39 min walk). Usually, for my nature walks, I start walking by hearing a little music to get the good vibes going and then turn it off to connect with nature. However, for some reason my Air pods didn’t want to work today, so I concentrated on my surroundings. It was a beautiful afternoon to go for a walk. The sun was still out, and the sky was blue. The temperature was quite chilly at 54°F, and it was a little windy. Honestly, my fingers were freezing while observing the plants and taking the pictures; but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the walk.

It’s incredible the many different plants found in the reservoir. As I walked around the reservoir, I tried to find different kinds of plants to have a diverse plant journal post. My observations focused on 4 of the main groups of plants: Bryophyta, Polypodiopsida, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms. During my walk, I observed many ferns with a sporophyte body and a blade shape. The ferns belong to the Polypodiopsida group of plants because they are seedless vascular plants. My observations also included many different flowering plants with colorful petals. These plants belong to the angiosperms group. I also observed different kinds of trees, such as oaks and pine trees. Pine trees are gymnosperms plants because they are non-flowering seed plants with cone-shaped seeds. Lastly, I also observed mosses with a green flat-like structure that were generally stuck on surfaces such as the ground, rock, and trees. Mosses belong to the plant group of Bryophyta because they are non-vascular plants.

Thus, I accomplished my goal of observing the 4 main groups of plants while taking my nature walk around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. What surprised me the most was that I could practically apply what we learned in class about plants to my walk. I find it amazing that thanks to this class, I can now observe some plants and could classify them into their main groups of plants. Not only can I appreciate the beauty of the plants, but I can also appreciate their function and importance. Plants provide us with many benefits, such as oxygen production, preventing erosion, moderate temperature, and climate, and serve as food, fuel, building materials, and even medicine resources. Lastly, on this nature walk, I learned that if you don’t use your phone or listen to music and focus on the nature around you, you will have a more enriching experience. Reconnecting with nature reduced my stress and calmed my nerves. This nature walk lifted my spirits and gave me energy. I genuinely believe that my interactions with nature, specifically the plants accomplished this. Thus, I'll add one more thing to my list of plant benefits: the psychological and physical health benefits of just being around them! I truly recommend that you try this on your next nature walk!

Posted on October 20, 2022 04:27 AM by miguel_oliveras