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Nowhere on campus is free of human influence, but some regions are more natural. The first three below, which are uncontrolled but wouldn't exist without human agency, exemplify the difficulty of distinction between human and natural areas.
In areas that were once mown but have been allowed to grow over, plants like pokeweed, climbing nightshade, smartweed and virginia creeper climb over grasses.
Honeysuckle, buckthorn, sumac, and others grow along the borders of forested areas and lawn.
Around campus, the sides and tops of rock earth-supporting walls provide an elaborate terrace for mosses, lichens, and various other creatures.
Below, Sachar Woods in September and May, respectively. Interesting creatures require patience to spot but hide everywhere.
Unusual communities grow on hilltops where erosion and the blowoff of leaf litter prevents soil accumulation. Keep an eye out for haircap moss and reindeer lichen!
Lichen, moss, small conifers, and others grow atop and along the sides of giant rock outcrops, beside an idiosyncratic arthropod assemblage.
Smaller exposed rock faces around campus both along parking lots and in the forest host mosses, ferns, and others.
Above, the wettest portion of the marshy thicket just behind the library in February and in May, with skunk cabbage leafed out. Below, closer to Chapel's Pond lie a fern-dominated and a reed-dominated portion of the marshy thicket, pictured in September.
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