Site Overview Report

Use the outline below to write a short report describing the general characteristics of your ecology site.  Each of the topics below should be described in a paragraph.

GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Your site is part of a larger geographic feature know as a watershed.  Within the watershed your site can be further described by one of these words.  In some cases, more that one might apply.  Use a topographic map to help you see the whole watershed.

• Floodplain
• Riparian
• Plateau              
• Valley
• Mountain slope  

Describe the boundaries of your watershed in terms of streets, mountains, neighborhoods, or any other features that might help your reader visualize it.

NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES

For each of the four directions (North, South, East and West), describe the main land use activities that border on your site.  Mark these on your site map as well.

Examples:

• underdeveloped / vacant lot
• wooded area
• paved/ unpaved roads        
• field/ farmland
• residential buildings
• commercial business
• industrial site
• stream/ pond/ wetland

CHARACTERISTICS OF SITE AND GENERAL AREA

Each time you visit, notice the sounds and smells of your site.  Some may change as the season changes and some may stay the same.  Traffic may be a common sound and play a part in how many other sounds you can hear.  There may be smells that are related to the plants or there may be chemical smells.  The ground you walk on may feel a certain way under your feet.  Try to describe the site so that the reader really feels like they’re there.

OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES

Make notes on important things not already mentioned.  Is your site easy to walk to from your school?  Is it a part of a larger natural area or is it isolated?  Are there hazards one should be aware of?   Etcetera.

DOMINANT HABITAT TYPES

Dominant means the habitat type covers 10% or more of your site.  

Upland sites are elevated areas away from the water.  Good drainage due to slope and soils are characteristics of uplands.  Uplands support trees that do not tolerate having their roots under water.

Wetlands must have standing water for all or a part of the year.  They are often near ponds and streams but can be caused by poor drainage in a meadow too.  You will be able to tell a wetland from the types of plants growing there and the often boggy soil.

Dominant habitat types:

COMMENTS

Make notes about things you think are important and will help to make the information in the report more meaningful.  E.g., The boundary between two of your habitat types is not sharp and it seems to you it is almost a third habitat type.