First Nature Walk

Jeff Buyak

For my first real iNaturalist nature walk I wandered around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir observing the great variety of life forms whose habitat bordered the body of water. It admittedly being the first time I “walked the res,” I was impressed by its vastness and could see the great benefits it provided for the residents of Chestnut Hill as a provisioning ecosystem service as it provides them with drinking water. It was in the low-60s during the time I went on my walk which I consider to be on the warm side for a fall day and was sunny without a cloud in the sky. Although the path around the reservoir was somewhat busy, I was still able to observe and snap some pictures of plants and trees along my route. One plant/flower which I found particularly beautiful was the phytolacca americana. This organism displayed vibrant colors of purple and pink in its branches and had plump blue-berries hanging from the ends. In all, I truly enjoyed my time exploring the reservoir and the organisms living around it and may have even found a new favorite activity to do around BC.

Posted on October 4, 2022 12:18 AM by