Exploring the Dairy Bush
In Week 1, at the beginning of the first Inquiry Case, we were introduced to some of the community members connected to the University's natural areas. As you try to decide which of the natural areas should be developed or, "re-purposed";
You should always ask: Who is making the statement? Where did they get their information? Have they backed this up with references or data? Are there alternative interpretations that the authors seem to have missed?
The community members will all provide information that they consider important in the decision regarding which woodlot to develop. But we must ask, are they giving us the whole picture? Do they have a particular view of the information that affects how it is interpreted? How do they know what they claim to know about the woodlots?
Assessing sources of information is an important part of making informed decisions as a scientist. In addition to soliciting input from stakeholders, a scientist involved in a major decision about urban development and woodlot conservation would need to explore the woodlots him/herself, make measurements, and generate an accurate assessment of the key parameters that will be used to make the final decision. In your upcoming Inquiry Project, you will be working in real woodlots across the University of Guelph campus, using real ecological sampling methods. The woodlot you will visit most regularly is known as the Dairy Bush.
In Week 1, at the beginning of the first Inquiry Case, we were introduced to some of the community members connected to the University's natural areas. As you try to decide which of the natural areas should be developed or, "re-purposed";
You should always ask: Who is making the statement? Where did they get their information? Have they backed this up with references or data? Are there alternative interpretations that the authors seem to have missed?
The community members will all provide information that they consider important in the decision regarding which woodlot to develop. But we must ask, are they giving us the whole picture? Do they have a particular view of the information that affects how it is interpreted? How do they know what they claim to know about the woodlots?
Assessing sources of information is an important part of making informed decisions as a scientist. In addition to soliciting input from stakeholders, a scientist involved in a major decision about urban development and woodlot conservation would need to explore the woodlots him/herself, make measurements, and generate an accurate assessment of the key parameters that will be used to make the final decision. In your upcoming Inquiry Project, you will be working in real woodlots across the University of Guelph campus, using real ecological sampling methods. The woodlot you will visit most regularly is known as the Dairy Bush.
The GigaPan - a way for you to visit the Dairy Bush in space and time
In the previous Unit, you were introduced to the campus woodlots and natural areas using the GigaPan. This week, we'll take a closer look at how the GigaPan is actually captured. First with some quick time-lapse and arieal drone footage of the GigaPan in the Dairy Bush at work - and then below Dr. Alex Smith will explain the GigaPan process in the field outside the Dairy Bush.
In the previous Unit, you were introduced to the campus woodlots and natural areas using the GigaPan. This week, we'll take a closer look at how the GigaPan is actually captured. First with some quick time-lapse and arieal drone footage of the GigaPan in the Dairy Bush at work - and then below Dr. Alex Smith will explain the GigaPan process in the field outside the Dairy Bush.
‘The “Dairy Bush” is a small woodlot that has been part
of the city and the university campus since 1873. The woodlot is unique in
containing both naturally growing and planted species that include rare and
listed species in Southern Ontario. While the origins of the name, “Dairy Bush”
are not known, it was common agricultural practice in the area to maintain a
small woodlot in order that cattle could congregate there in the heat of the
warm summer months – and so it is possible that cattle from the agricultural
college may have been given access to the bush in the summer. Since 1975 the
woodlot has become a “living laboratory” for numerous ecology students for
nearly forty years.
During this time – the city of Guelph has seen a marked population expansion at the southern end of the city, surrounding the University. This has led to quite substantial developmental pressures – and the former fields surrounding the Bush to the north-east are now home to student housing and other retail developments.
The encroachment of human use has led to increased traffic within the Bush – and will likely lead to increased degradation through time. A housing development for students was established directly south of the Dairy Bush in 2003, and more development is occurring in the adjacent (former) fields to the south.’ Excerpt from Smith 2010
The sign outside the Dairy Bush reads, “The Dairy Bush is a unique and delicate example of Great Lakes St. Lawrence forest in Southern Ontario, and serves as an outdoor laboratory for University of Guelph students.”
In the slide show below - you can see aerial photos of the Dairy Bush from 1930 - 1994 and watch the landscape develop around the bush. To orient yourself in the photos - 'grid north' is up and the road to the left of the photos is Edinburgh so the rest of campus is to the right of the image.
During this time – the city of Guelph has seen a marked population expansion at the southern end of the city, surrounding the University. This has led to quite substantial developmental pressures – and the former fields surrounding the Bush to the north-east are now home to student housing and other retail developments.
The encroachment of human use has led to increased traffic within the Bush – and will likely lead to increased degradation through time. A housing development for students was established directly south of the Dairy Bush in 2003, and more development is occurring in the adjacent (former) fields to the south.’ Excerpt from Smith 2010
The sign outside the Dairy Bush reads, “The Dairy Bush is a unique and delicate example of Great Lakes St. Lawrence forest in Southern Ontario, and serves as an outdoor laboratory for University of Guelph students.”
In the slide show below - you can see aerial photos of the Dairy Bush from 1930 - 1994 and watch the landscape develop around the bush. To orient yourself in the photos - 'grid north' is up and the road to the left of the photos is Edinburgh so the rest of campus is to the right of the image.
The Dairy Bush GigaPan has been an ongoing project since August 2009 - where a panorama is taken each week - you can see all of them one at a time here. However, this is a new way of viewing this single woodlot, at high resolution, in time as well as space - it's called "TimeMachine". .
Time Machine....
One technological aspect of the Dairy Bush GigaPan is still developing - it's called Time Machine. You can see a start to this below where the traditional GigaPan (where you can zoom around in space) is complemented by stitching each panorama together through the years (so you can explore through time). This tool is still being developed - and weeks are being added all the time and it will soon be up to date and include the most recently captured panorama.
Think about some ways you could use this "TimeMachine" to explore this campus woodlot.
Time Machine....
One technological aspect of the Dairy Bush GigaPan is still developing - it's called Time Machine. You can see a start to this below where the traditional GigaPan (where you can zoom around in space) is complemented by stitching each panorama together through the years (so you can explore through time). This tool is still being developed - and weeks are being added all the time and it will soon be up to date and include the most recently captured panorama.
Think about some ways you could use this "TimeMachine" to explore this campus woodlot.
- The number of weeks that there was snow on the ground (compare 2011 with the winters of 2012/13 and 2013/14.
The timing of leaf emergence - does it change year to year?
How long are the ephemeral spring flora evident on the forest floor?
Herbivory - can you observe the onset of herbivory (from insects and gastropods) on the leaves close to the camera).