Visiting the Old-Growth Forest was a nice break from my workload. I had thought the trip would just be a scenic hike through a nature reserve, but House Fellow Todd Bittner had a lot of relevant and interesting information to share. Since he has long been involved in the upkeep of the reserve, he readily answered any questions we had for him.

The hike began on a plot that was once farmland, overlooking the valley that contains Cornell and Cayuga Lake. As we went down in elevation, we entered the area of the reserve where the old-growth trees were. Professor Bittner had something to say about seemingly every variety of tree and plant we came across, including the biology of the plants and their role in the local ecosystem. Something I found interesting was that one variety of tree had been widely affected by some kind of pest years ago, and this variety was being kept alive solely because of Cornell Plantations (though controlled use of a pesticide).

I’m glad to have been able to visit the Old-Growth Forest, especially with Professor Bittner as our guide.