Chestnut Hill Reservoir/Pine Tree Preserve: October 4, 2022
For this nature walk, I intended to walk around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, since I had never gone before. When I got there, it was windy and pretty chilly. The sky was overcast and dark, which added to the cold weather. As I started walking around the Reservoir, I quickly realized that I wasn't finding any fungi there. The ecosystem by the path mostly consisted of dry dirt and many fallen leaves. There was not much moist soil or tree trunks that hosted any type of fungi, so I decided to leave. Before I left, I saw a really colorful berry-like plant that I am later learning is called the Porcelain Berry, which was a very interesting plant I'd never seen before. I walked back to the Pine Tree Preserve, and some of the woody areas near the road by the Rec Center and Preserve. Here I was more successful in finding fungi, though it was still difficult to find. I had to walk through the leaves and off the path in search for fungi. This surprised me, since on my nature walk last week in the same Preserve, I had come across much more fungi. This made me wonder if possibly the fungi in this area have not evolved to withstand colder weather, since the temperatures are lower this week than last. Perhaps evolution in future generations will occur so that the fungi will be able to persist in colder, windier temperatures, though it may all just be a coincidence that I couldn't find as much fungi today.