Winter Walks are a tradition of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Cornell University, started by Professor Peter Marks in the 1970s. Winter walks grew out of the teaching of Plant Ecology field labs (taught in the fall), as students wanted to continue Friday afternoon outings in the “spring” semester. So while many animals are dormant, gorges are icy, and trees lack the green noise that can be distracting, faculty and students go out into the woods and share natural history knowledge for a few hours. On February 3, we had our first walk of the year, with a good turnout, including students from Field Ecology (BioEE 3611) and Peter. We visited the south side of Monkey Run, which is part of the Cayuga Trail. It was under 25F, but with some sunshine and a great group! Here are a few things we saw:
