Arboretum Tour: Ginkgo Tree (Ginkgo biloba)

While we were on the Arboretum Tour one tree in particular stuck out to me. It was rather small and had a funny name. It's called the Ginkgo tree. The reason it stuck out to me so much was because of its height. Out of all the trees we saw this one was by far the shortest. That's not a bad thing of course, and in some ways it relates to me personally. I have never exactly been the tallest boy in anything that I've ever participated in or taken part of, whether it be sporting events or just school in general I always seem to be one of the shortest, if not the shortest. I've also been known to have a better memory than most of my friends, and that's even something that this tree has always been used for people to improve. "Today, many people take the extract of this plant with hopes of sharpening their memory."

When I look at this tree through the one-inch window I can see the entire tree. The fact that it's so short helps of course. I see the many branches sticking out in every direction and begin to wonder what this might have looked like with leafs. The bottom of it seems rather short since most what I can see is branches sticking out everywhere. The way the sun shines upon this tree gives a distinct look for some reason. That could be caused by its surroundings or the light shining off of the snow could add a certain effect that I'm seeing. No matter what it is, this tree looks pretty damn good. Just like me ;)

CHD Building

The Center for Human Development is a very useful tool to college students. There are many things that can be utilized to help students lead a successful path during their time here at UMF. On the first floor, there are offices for disability accommodations, writing center, math clinic, and tutoring and SI. These programs allow students to seek help when needed. Instead of going through college drowning in discouragement, students can get help and learn how to accommodate disabilities or academic weaknesses. On the second floor of the Center for Human Development is offices mental health counseling, career counseling, advising, and international exchange programs. This floor is helpful for problems that can be addressed that aren’t necessarily academic related. It’s good to know that the university actually cares about its students. The third floor holds the testing center, a life saver for all of those who are required to take the PRAXIS. I personally think that the most helpful resource at the Center for Human Development is Writing Center and Math Clinic. Although I am a proficient writer and mathematician, these subjects are very scary for some people. Knowing that there is an office that is always available to look over papers, proof read, or help with math homework is very reassuring. The resource that I will find myself using most often is the career assistance. Being a college student and responsible for all financial costs can be very overwhelming. I haven’t yet used the CHD, but I presume that I will be using it often with my English class. It never hurts to have an extra set of eyes looking over your work.

The CHD building is like a life jacket on a sinking ship.


I took a picture with Lori Hutchinson, Program Coordinator. She was pleased to take a picture with me and explained all the resources that were available at the Center for Human Development. Her favorite part about working at the CHD building was working with the 18-22 age group. She likes being apart of the transition, finding a career, getting education, figuring out their future. She said that she is a school geek and that she likes school, so this is what is best for her.

Arboretum Tour Blue Spruce (Picea Pungens)

The blue spruce, a native of the rocky mountains, sits ever so naturally in our neck of the wood. Peculiar how a tree can have bare so much hospitality, its illuminating strength exaggerates its story as it silently becomes part of the background. Overlooked by many during its passing days this spruce protects its needs from natural elements with a concentrated wax coat. Perpetually older than many university students, its wisdom is kept a secret within its internal structure based upon virtue and survival. It's comforting tint of blue resurrects a sense of natural being inside of me, much like the blue waves of the ocean, or drops of rain water the needles represent a natural tint created by the naturally occurring world that surrounds us. I can't help but reflect on how thankful I am to see trees when I peer out my window, and see only tree through my one inch window. As a product of Maine I have been blessed and surrounded by natural life that surprisingly enough many have not encountered. The blue spruce symbolizes strength, order and respect for those who have gained a virtue of patience. Its captivating structure stretches to heights man has managed to copy. While mankind recognizes trees for their material worth, humankind shall recognize the wisdom and spirit exemplified by the blue spruce as it maintains a sense of pride mankind only hopes to duplicate.

Allie Valente

Arboretum Tour: White Paper Birch (Betula Papyrifera)

As cold as the day was when the class ventured out to walk the Arboretum Tour, a certain type of tree stuck out. The tree I speak of is known as the White Birch, also known as the Paper Birch and the Latin name being Betula Papyrifera.

The most significant feature of the White Birch is the white bark the tree bears. Though there are some problems the White Birch has like excessive shedding of bark. "As tempting as it might be, one should avoid peeling the loose sheets of bark, which can damage the tree." (The UMF Arboretum, 14) The tree has benefits as well, such as being a "pioneer species" (The UMF Arboretum, 14) which is able to grow and colonize in open sites.

Even thought the White Birch can be easily damaged, the species has also been of great use to the early Native Americans and English settlers. In the early years of the Americas, it has been shown in history that the settlers from Europe as well as the Native Americans had been using the White Birch for canoes for generations. (The UMF Arboretum, 14) As for the one-inch window, I focused upon the white bark that clothe the tree. As I focused on the bright bark, I notice that the black lines that are on the tree only flow in a horizontal pattern. I have no idea why the lines never go vertically but the way that the lines flow kind of remind me of a zebra's coat.

The White Birch was my choice because of the memories it brings about in my head. For instance, my early childhood home was a small house out in the middle of a vast, large field with a single White Birch resting near a large rock that lay beside the right side of the house. I would sit below the tree daily as I would take a break from the games I would play, just sit and watch the little life crawling in the grass, or even lay down and watch the clouds drift in whichever way the wind would blow.

Arboretum Tour: Norway Maple

I loved the whole arboretum tour. As we’ve learned previously in our past class assignments we found out what type of learner we are, and I ended up being a hands on learner so this was perfect timing for our walk around looking at the trees around the campus. One tree that I liked was the Norway Maple. The reason why this tree stood out to me was because I loved climbing trees when I was younger and this one looks like the perfect one! The fact that the truck is so big and then it splits off into many different parts giving you many different options to choose. The Norway Maple is very stable at the trunk and then up the branches is a little smaller. After the branches come the sticks which decrease in size very much so. The sticks lead to twigs, and there are many of these. I took the picture of the tree at night so it looks a little spooky. I think of Halloween when I see it in this photo. In my one-inch window that we used I focused on the bark. When you see it up close you get a whole new perspective. Firstly I looked at the color, it is a light brown like the majority of the trees in Maine, minus a few different ones like the White Burch or Paper Burch. One other difference of the color is that there is green in the crevasse of the tree trunk. It is a mossy look, but still it is attached to the tree so I kept it in. With the crevasse it looks almost as if you were looking at one of the glassed in ant farms. There were so many different paths with the bark.

p.s. I'm having a hard time uploading the picture of my tree. Tomorrow during our meeting, we can try to get it uploaded. Sorry!

Arboretum Northern White-Cedar

The tree that I went back to after going on the Arboretum Tour was the Northern White-Cedar. It was located next to the writing center. I know that from seeing the picture that I took its kind of hard to see the tree because it was so gloomy, but the reason I chose it was because of how the trunk of the tree looked. It’s a little hard to explain but to me it looks like it’s following apart like a porch that is old and the wood is starting to come up. It kind of gave me the chills because if you were to run your fingers over the bark it wouldn’t surprise me if you got a splinter or two. The color of the tree was green, which was coming off the branches and then the bark was a grayish color. One of my favorite other parts of the tree was how there were parts of the tree where it looked like the bark had fallen off and there was another tree of the same kind growing inside. That’s obviously now what happened but it’s a way to describe it. Overall I thought all the trees were really cool some of them being bigger then others. But I hope that when spring comes we can possibly go out and look at the tree again or do the other tour because it will be a lot warmer and I think we will all be a lot more interested.

Arboretum Tour: Sugar Maple

Although I enjoyed all the trees on the Arboretum Tour, my favorite has to be the Sugar Maple. There are so many great qualities about this tree that make it great. For example, in the summer it provides cool shade on hot summer days around campus, and in the spring you can collect sap from it to make maple syrup. Homemade maple syrup is one of my favorite things on my pancakes or waffles in the morning. The big trunk branches out into smaller and smaller branches, as it gets closer to the sky. This specific tree is quite old and you can tell by looking at the bark on the trunk and the branches off from it. Currently, the bark on the trunk is very rough. I am curious as to how old this tree actually is. In the summer, this tree has beautiful bright green leaves. However in the fall, the leaves turn a burning orange and yellow. By winter the leaves have all fallen off due to the cold. Year round it is a beautiful tree. In my 1-inch window, I see a part of a branch with smaller twigs coming off from it. A tree is a symbol of life to me. I have grown up my whole life around trees so it is a reminder of my past and a glimpse at my future. I want to live in a very rural area when I am older and hopefully be around many sugar maples so I can use them for my own maple syrup!

Arboretum Tour: Sugar Maple

I enjoyed going on the Arboretum tour, I only hope I get a chance to do it in the spring too! I chose to go back to the Sugar Maple in front of Mantor Library. I picked this tree because it reminds me of my childhood. Not only do I have maple trees surrounding my house, but I also used to tap trees and collect the sap with one of my dad's friends when I was young. A large maple tree, like the one in front of the library, can produce up to 40 gallons of sap per season (The UMF Arboretum, 14). I used to love collecting the syrup all season and watching it get boiled down then getting to use it on my pancakes the next day.
When I look at the tree through the one inch window, I focus on hole that has been tapped into it. The trees around my house all have those same little holes that looks as if it has tried to heal, but just could not close. It reminds me of that time every year when we had to go around and take out all the taps for the season. The ability the maple trees has to look so strong and withstand so much on the outside, yet produce something so sweet and delicious is so amazing to me. I cannot wait for spring and summer to get here so that maple tree can be a source of coolness and shade for our campus.

Arboretum Tour: Blue Spruce

 It was a cold morning to say the least... Well to be honest it wasn't too bad seeing as 10 degrees Fahrenheit feels like a warm spring day in Farmington nowadays. Apart from the weather my favorite tree was the Blue Spruce. Why? Because it was the closest to my dorm room... just kidding! This tree to me caught my eye along the snowy Arboretum Tour because of it's blue-green, with a hint of silver, color that made it unique. The species is a native of the Rocky Mountains and can live for hundreds of years (UMF Arboretum Tour Guide, Pg. 6). This tree stands very tall in size and is abundantly full of needles, which give the tree its color. A fun fact from the Arboretum Tour Guide is that the color of the needles is produced by surface waxes that protect the needles from all elements of weather that nature throws at it (Pg. 6).

If you ever want to take a second look at the Blue Spruce, you'll easily be able to find it on your way to the dining hall. It's located next to the library and in perfect sight when your walking along South Street. The tree is a beautiful sight especially in the winter months when most trees lack color, the Blue Spruce sets itself apart from the competition.

Arboretum Tour

Today, was...well... not the best day for a tour of trees, but we got to see some beautiful sights none the less.

The tree I decided to focus on was the Eastern White Pine located between the CHD building and the Olsen Student Center. This tree caught my eye because of its immense height - having the potential to get up to 200 feet (UMF Arboretum Tour Guide, Pg. 8) - and the way it looked standing directly under it. The Eastern White Pine wood is a softwood, being very versatile. This tree was also one of my favorites because it was one of the few trees that I remember identifying in my AP Environmental Science class in high school. "Soft blue-green needles, 3-5 inches long, are found in bunches of five"(UMF Arboretum Tour Guide, pg. 8) is something I distinctly remember my teacher informing us as we prepared for the Envirothon.

Through the one inch window, I focused on the bark, one of my favorite features of the Eastern White Pine. I noticed that the bark is very textured and rough as I scraped my hands across the trunk. I noticed that the bark was lined with cracks that may inhabit many sorts of creatures in the summer time. The smell of pine was distinct in the crisp morning air. The tree reminded me of my old house of which we had many pine. I would love to climb the trees and feel a sense of power over the world. This tree is pretty amazing.

GREEN BLOGGERS

In the future, the FIRST person to BLOG on any given topic or assignment will take the lead by starting a NEW POST, and the rest of us can add our BLOGS as comments to that first person's new post. So, whenever we have a NEW assignment (like the Arboretum Tree Image and Description), the first person on board should click NEW POST and do their thing. Does that make sense to everyone?

REGARDING responses to peer posts, when you post your 100 word response to a peer post,  do that as a "comment" and say which blog posts you are responding to. You can respond to each one separately (100 words each) or respond to two at once (200 words total).

Jensen's Article Response

I agree with Jensen’s main argument about individuals cannot make a huge impact on the environment. Although we have seen the blame for this, such as, people need to drive less, recycle and not take as long showers, we as the individuals only accumulate to a fraction of the problem. Jensen uses facts to state that it is not the peoples fault for the worsening environment but the large companies. The only part I don’t agree with him is that he tends to doubt the ways in which we as individuals can help. He states that “if we do everything the movie An Inconvenient Truth suggested U.S. carbon emissions would fall by 22%.” This is still a step in the right direction to help the environment and would definitely not hurt to try. The one thing I would ask Jensen is where he got all of his data and how accurate it is about all the statistics he has said in this article.

Welcome to the Thinking Green Blog

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Hello Everyone,
We'll be using our class Blog to post and share images and words that come from our readings and experiences in Thinking Green. Check the Assignments page for specifics, which will  be coming soon. Hope you enjoy it.
Prof. Legler.