Northern Hardwood Forest

The Northern Hardwood forest is at the beginning of the Allen Brook Nature Trail just after the bridge. It is lighter than the middle of the trail, so more plants can grow. If you would like more information about the northern hard wood forest go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/northernhardwoodforest

by Kelsie and Keith

White Pine and Hemlock Forest

The white pine and hemlock forest is the darkest part of the trail. Not many plants grow there because there is not much sunlight. The entire trail except the white pine and hemlock forest is sunny. In the winter not all of the pine needles fall off the trees. That’s why in the spring you can see a lot of pine needles on the ground.
If you would like more information about the white pine and hemlock forest go to:
http://www.vtfpr.org/util/for_utilize_stats.cfm

by Laura and Tawn

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corp

The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps built the whole entire nature trail. They built the nature trail with a hammer, lumber, and a chain saw. The VYCC builds things like bridges for nature trails and also lean to’s and other stuff. They build things just for the people of Vermont. You have to be 16 -21 years old to volunteer. If you volunteer, you can help build things. The VYCC has been helping people since 1985. All of their crews complete priority conservation, agriculture, park management, and disaster projects throughout Vermont.
For more information please check out: http://www.vycc.org/

by Adrian and Carly

The Wolf Tree

The wolf tree is actually a really big pine tree. A big branch fell off of it that was the size of a regular tree! It is a really big tree. It is located in the white pine and hemlock forest part of the Allen Brook Trail. It has graffiti on it. How sad!
To get more information go to: http://www.thewolftree.com/wolfdef.htm

by Julia and Michael

The Twisty Tree

On the Allen Brook nature trail there is a tree and it is on a curve. There is a trail to the twisty tree. You have to be in a certain spot to see it. The twisty is a tree that’s trunk is not completely straight. The trunk looks like it had to grow around another tree. We do not know how the tree got like this but our first guess is that another tree fell on it while it was growing. If you would like to see it from different angles you can look at it straight up, or you can look at it head on.

http://www.vermonttreesociety.org/listindex.htm

by Andrew and Aleah

The Bridge

The bridge was made by the VYCC about 11 years ago. You will see the Allen Brook Bridge at the beginning of the trail. The poles that stabilize the bridge used to be made of wood. The wood started to rot so they had to replace the wooden pole with metal poles.

The bridge leads you to the northern hard wood forest part of the trail. The bridge goes over low land and the Allen Brook. It is one of the most popular parts of the trail. You can find the trail behind Williston Central School just past the ice skating. The bike path loops so you should only take the turn that has the trail sign in front and that will get you to the bridge.

If you would like to learn more information about the bridge go to:
http://www.vycc.org/projects/pastprojects.html

by Julia and Liam

The Beaver Lodge on the Allen Brook Nature Trail

The beaver lodge found on the Allen Brook Nature trail is kind of big. The beavers gather sticks to make the beaver lodge. The beaver lodge is in the middle of the water. We were able to watch the beaver lodge in the fall, winter and spring. In the winter there was snow on the entire beaver lodge except for the very top.
Click Here to see more information about a beaver lodge.
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461514718_761575721_-1_1/Beaver_Lodge.html
by Ben

Vermont's spring flowers

On the Allen Brook Nature Trail you can find star flowers, trilliums, and trout lilies. A Trillium flower looks like a red and white star with six points. A trout lily looks like it leans over, and it’s yellow and brown. It also looks like a bell. You can also find red clovers. You all know what those look like! These flowers grow in the Northern Hardwood Forest part of the trail because the sun can get through the trees better. You can find most of the flowers in the spring. In addition to these flowers you can find a lot more on the Nature Trail! Please visit the Allen Brook Nature Trail to see the beautiful flowers! Bring a camera!

For more pictures of Vermont spring flowers go to: http://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/photogallery2008.html

by Jacqueline and Molly

Signs of Beaver Activity

Beavers chew on wood because they need it to build their homes. The beavers chew trees into a point in order to break it. By doing this they are always sharpening their teeth. Some signs of beaver activity include: trees chewed into points, trees broken and on the ground and piles of wood chips. Beavers can also make BIG trees into little tiny twigs.

If you would like more information please go to: http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/wildlife/420-202/420-202.html
By Ben and Jackie

Shallow Emergent Wetlands

A shallow emergent wetland is a river that can support wildlife inside the water. Trees can even grow in there! A wetland will have animals and fish like minnows, mudpuppies, and salamanders. Some salamanders like the mudpuppies that live in the river are hard to spot. Fish from the lakes are not found in the shallow emergent wetlands. The wetlands found in the Allen Brook Nature trail in Williston Vermont, has a Beaver dam and lodge in it.
For more information visit: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/vermont/misc/art15833.html

by Holden and Zachary

Pine Trees

Pine trees have many needles in one bundle. On a white pine there are five needles in one bundle. That’s kind of funny because in the word white there are five letters. Red pines have only two needles in their bundles, but in the word red there are three letters. That’s how you tell the difference from a white pine and a red pine. Pine Trees also keep there needles all year long. On the Allen Brook Nature trail there are three types of Pine trees: white pine, hemlock and red pine. Mostly all of the pine trees are in the white pine and hemlock forest. It is the third section of the nature trail. Pine trees have a lot of cool features because they keep their needles all year. So if you want to see it then visit the Allen Brook Nature trail in Williston Vermont in the U.S.A.

If you would like more information about pine trees go to:

http://www.treehelp.com/trees/pine/pine-types.asp

by Abrie and Hannah

Maple Trees

Can you tell the difference between red maple trees and sugar maple trees? If you don’t know then we can tell you! In the summer you can tell the difference between the trees by the shape of their leaves. Red maple tree leaves have jagged edges and Sugar maple tree leaves have smooth edges!
In the fall red maple trees have red leaves, and sugar maple trees have yellow leaves. Also, you can only get maple sugar from the sugar maple tree!! That is how you can tell the difference between both Maple trees!!
You can go to: http://maple-trees.com/ to learn more about these trees.

by Rachel and Tadj

The History of the Trail

The Allen Brook Nature trail is located behind Williston Central School near the Baseball field. The trail was made in 1997, so it’s 11 years old. The trail starts out as a bridge crossing over the brook. Then it turns into northern hardwood forest, and then it turns into a Pine forest. The trail is a 0.4 mile walk in all. Williston paid $5,000 dollars to build the bridge. The bridge was made by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps.

To find more nature trails go to: http://www.voga.org/Vermont_Recreation_Trails.htm

by Natalie and Teejay

Helicopter Seeds

This is a picture of our helicopter seeds field journal page.

Helicopter seeds are actually the fruit of maple trees. Do you know what they look like when they are growing? They look like a little ball. Did you know they grow in a bunch? When they are ripe they fall off the tree, spin around and around like a helicopter and sometimes they land on plants as well as the ground. On the Allen Brook Nature trail you can find helicopter seeds at the end of the hard wood forest and a little bit past the hard wood forest.
For more information about helicopter seeds visit
http://www.bcn.net/~thatcher/trees.htm

by Mariah and Sophie

Galls

Galls otherwise known as musical onions, are abnormal growths found on plants that have fly and other types of bug larva in them. Bugs lay their larva in the plants because it gives the larva everything they need for the time they spend in the galls. The bug is born in the spring. The larva’s blood is like anti-freeze which allows them to survive cold temperatures. There are a lot of galls on the plants in the Allen Brook Nature trail, some of them can be found on golden rods right when you get off the bridge.
If you would like more information about galls go to: http://www.forestpests.org/vermont/gallmitesandmidges.html

by Kyla and Tanner

Cherry Trees

Black cherry trees have bark that looks like burnt potato chips. Pin cherry trees are a lot smaller and are only about as big around as a tennis ball. On the Allen brook trail as soon as you get on the trail there is a sign nailed to a tree that says pin cherry. The sign is actually wrong. The tree it is nailed to is really a black cherrytree.For more information on cherry trees please visit http://treegrowersdiary.com/blackcherry.html

By Zack and Cathryn

Birds on the Allen Brook Nature Trail

This is a wood pecker that we found on the nature trail.

When you go on the Allen Brook Nature trail you might see these kinds of birds: Wood Pecker, Red-winged Black Bird, Robin, and a Chickadee. These birds are very common in this area of Vermont. They are usually found in the Northern Hard Wood Forest and the shallow emergent wetlands.
If you want more info please go to: http://vt.audubon.org/

by Cam and Hadley

Birch Trees and Logs

Birch trees are very different than most trees. They are different because the wood rots before the bark. When this happens you are left with a ring of bark. On most trees the bark rots before the wood. Birch trees are also different because they have white bark, most trees have brown bark. Their leaves give you the impression of a maple leaf and turn a dark orange and yellow in the fall. In the spring the leaves are green. On the Allen Brook Nature trail there are a lot of birch trees. Almost everywhere you look you can see a birch tree or a birch log.
For more information on Vermont trees go to: http://academics.smcvt.edu/vtgeographic/textbook/trees/vermont%20trees.htm

by Aidan and Sophia

Beech Trees

Beech trees are one of the few trees that keep their leaves in the winter. The colors of the leaves are pale in the winter, and they grow new green leaves in the spring. The bark of the beech tree is grey and smooth. Sometimes the tree trunks have claw marks from animals that climb up them in order to get the beech nuts. Beech Nuts are small triangular purple and brown nuts. They make great food for animals like bears.

Beech trees grow between 50 to 75 feet high, or 15 to 23 meters high. They are a forest tree and can be found in the Northern Hardwood Forest on the nature trail. There are two types of beech trees, the European Beech tree and the American Beech tree.

If you would like to find out more about Beech trees go to this Link: http://www.inspire.net/trees/fact%20pages/beech/beech.html

by Jacob and Julie