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| UVM students learning how to identify trees on the Urban Reserve |
The Urban Reserve offers a unique opportunity for environmental, place-based education within the Burlington city limits. Its proximity to city development means that students, especially those in the Old North End, can walk there in minutes. Unlike bordering North Beach and Waterfront Park, the Urban Reserve has been allowed to undergo some natural ecological succession. Its wild nature can act as an ecologically active outdoor classroom.
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| The urban reserve is within walking distance of several educational institutions |
Brian Williams, principal of the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes recently said that "this place is absolutely essential to the school and to the community." In the Sustainability Academy's place-based education strategy, students venture out from the school to observe nature in action. They go to the Intervale, Red Rocks, and in the future, they plan to go to the Urban Reserve.
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| The Sustainability Academy plans to use the Urban Reserve for it's place-based education programs. Students can walk to the Reserve from the school in 15 minutes. |
From a social justice point of view, the Urban Reserve's proximity to the Old North End offers an economically disadvantaged population a green space to recreate near their homes. Leaving the Urban Reserve open to the public and in a relatively natural state is important to this community.
Students can view early successional species like aspen, cottonwood, and dogwood. Students can also see remnants of historical natural communities on the bluffs above including unique pitch pine and oak communities.
The species in the Reserve are interesting to observe all year long. There's nothing quite like watching the aspen trees bud out in spring, the ducks come and go along the shore, or a woodchuck scamper up a hill to his den.
The Urban Reserve is a great place to learn about nature!
This young boy is discovering the invasive reed Phragmites
The Burlington Sailing Center, a not-for-profit institution immediately to the south of the Reserve, is a thriving educational institution that uses the lake not only to teach sailing, but also to engage students with science. The Center conducts educational programs and camps for 2,000 children each year on scientific topics including weather, underwater engineering, and water quality. Students learn how to measure and plot data for Oxygen, Phosphorous, Nitrogen, and Ph levels in the lake. Students also study pollution and how it flows through the terrestrial environment into the lake.
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| Students at the Burlington Sailing Center learn about the land/water connections and about how to measure water quality. |
