Meet The Plot: Location, Features, and My First Impressions

September 3, 2011

Selecting my plot for this study was a no-brainer. Almost exactly a year ago, my family moved from the west side of Grand Rapids to Ada. We built our new home across the street from a soccer field and church which was bordered by a thick weed field, woods, and a pond. This seemed to perfectly fit the criteria for a plot, and it was very conveniently located, so I went for it. When I first ventured over to my chosen plot, I faced the first of many predicaments: crossing a relatively thin band of standing water. However, it was not quite thin enough to jump over at the place where I had come upon it. So I bumbled along its muddy edge, looking for a safe place to leap across. During this little mission, it quickly became evident to me that this water feature, and therefore my plot, is home to a number of very vicious, very hungry insects. Apparently sophomore biology students are very appetizing to Ada mosquitoes, because I became very well acquainted with them while fumblingly attempting to access my web cam feature (which decided not to cooperate at the time, though it operated perfectly fine once I returned to my nice bug-free bedroom). Along the way, I also encountered animal tracks in the mud (which may have been a raccoon’s) and a number of skittish frogs leaping in and out of the water. Finally I reached a section thin enough to jump over, which I did without incident. Once I had traversed the water, I scrambled up a small hill to a large forest area where recent storms had felled many small trees and limbs. Completely alone—barring the insect and animal populations—I began to explore what would be my project site for the next few weeks. One of the things I immediately noticed was the perpetual sound of bugs: a raucous symphony of clicks, hums, rasps, and buzzes. Another noticeable factor was the feel of the air: it was a humid, hot day but beneath the trees the air had a fresher, cooler, crisper quality that I really appreciated after sweating in the field adjacent to the forest. Very close to my entrance point to the woods, I became intrigued by a tall, thick tree that had white, plate-looking fungus on it. Since my webcam was still not operating at the time, I snapped a quick picture of it with my phone camera, then moved on. As I crunched deeper into the trees, the growth of thin weeds and grasses on the floor turned into a thicker mass of shrubbery, and then into a barely navigable tangle of greenery as I came upon a gorgeous, algae-dotted pond. I circled the rim of the pond, briefly scoping it out. I say briefly because by that time I was still being attacked by the relentless bugs and was ready to run back through the field of weeds, a short ways down the residential street, and up my driveway. It was a short but successful first visit to my plot, I reflected. The area was ideal for soil and water samples, weed and fungus collecting, observation of insect and animal interactions, and even trash pickup. Apparently we had very poor golfers in the neighborhood, because a few of their balls were lodged in the forest floor. Overall, I was excited to return and discover more, provided that I brought bug spray along.

The links below show where my plot is located in relation to main roads and then the plot itself in greater detail.
Location: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Keystone+Community+Church,+Spaulding+Avenue+Southeast,+Forest+Hills,+MI&aq=1&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.729049,86.572266&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&hq=Keystone+Community+Church,&hnear=Spaulding+Ave+SE,+Forest+Hills,+Kent,+Michigan&ll=42.950957,-85.542383&spn=0.035935,0.084543&z=14
Plot: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ada,+MI&aq=3&g=Ada,+Forest+Hills,+MI&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Ada,+Forest+Hills,+Kent,+Michigan&ll=42.949748,-85.541868&spn=0.002246,0.005284&t=h&z=18&vpsrc=6