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At the Lamoille River below East Hardwick, the deposit of cobbles on the far bank and the near bank cleared of trees that had obscured the view.
EAST HARDWICK – Consulting Ecologist and Biologist Matt Peters led a nature walk along the Lamoille River in East Hardwick on October 4, to study the effects of the river on the landscape. Geology, glacial history and the July flood were all on view. Peters dug soil samples above the river to illustrate why tree species varied at different elevations. The group visited a cedar seep to watch Peters core sample a cedar to find it approximately 115 years old. Understory plants like sedges, wild ginger, blue cohosh and zigzag goldenrod marked the rich woods. Along the water’s edge, everyone scrambled over cobbles to find a large boulder of orbicular granite called “bulls-eye” granite, deposited by glaciers carrying it from the Craftsbury area. This trip through time was sponsored by the Hardwick Conservation Commission.
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Matt Peters finds a boulder of bulls-eye granite carried by glaciers from Craftsbury along the Lamoille River below East Hardwick.
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Rachel Kane watches Matt Peters count cedar tree rings from a core sample. The tree is 115-plus years old.
