Cliff Stephens Park

Cliff Stephens Park was a City/Neighborhood park, which also had a Frisbee golf course.  The park was separated by a road, with one side of the park lacking very many trees.  It was a hot, 90+ degree day that was typical of any Florida summer day. There were not many animals, however a squirrel with an apple in his mouth was seen, as well as an abundance of dragonflies. 

My group and I started in the Cover of Canopy section. It was determined that 60% was canopy cover.  This determined how much of the sky was viably covered by trees. This was tested by looking up 10 times along a horizontal line in one area of the park.   The 60% of tree coverage seemed accurate for the one side of the park we were on. 

            The third section was also under the canopy. Measuring tree length, soil-texture, and the DBH of trees in the area. The soul texture was mostly sand, some clay, Loomy. The first 15 trees were 125 cm DBH.  16 to 20 of the trees were 153 cm DBH.  20 to 23 of the trees were 142 cm DBH.  24 of the 30 trees were 140 cm DBH.  This area had a great deal of dragonflies!

Cruz-all: 8

90% Canopy Cover

            The second section was the Open Area test.  Unfortunately, not much was discovered in this area of the park.  Every 10 meters, we placed a pin flag into the grass to determine what is underneath. 

At 10 meters- 50% St. Augustine grass: 50% weed, dirt.

At 20 meters- 100% grass, dirt below.

At 30 meters- Grass, dead grass, soil.

No ants or other insects.

The soil sample was determined to be silt loam.  The sand was very smooth, and forms a week ribbon less than 1 degree before breaking.  

We then did a similar test, however with a larger quadrant. 

At 10 meters- 70% Weeds

At 20 meters- 20% Dirt, 10% grass, 60% weeds.

At 30 meters- 50% grass type A, 50% grass type B. (One darker, smaller than other).

            Our final section was a water sampling from the pier. Using the drift net, we did not notice any noticeable life in the water, besides a small piece of green aquatic plant on the side of the jar.

Further water testing occurred for:

Salinty: 40

Turbidity: 46 NTU

Temperature: 89’6 F

pH: 6 pH, slightly acidic

Illumination: 642 Lux

Overall, I had a great time at the park.  It was easy to test out the different measurements and experimenting with the new tools.  However, the park did not feature much interesting plant or animal life, and was more of a neighborhood park.