Section 2b - Observation and Research

Climatic Factors

What is the Koppen climate classification which applies to the region?

Dfb - Humid Continental Mild Summer, Wet All Year

What is the plant hardiness zone?

5b - New Brunswick Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Average annual rainfall:

(1991 - 2020) - 1,193 mm

Highest recorded annual rainfall:

(1991 - 2020) - 1501.4 mm (2014)

Lowest recorded annual rainfall:

(1991-2020) - 820.9 mm (2020)

Highest recorded 24-hour rainfall occurrence

(1991-2020) - 122.2 mm (December 2014 - All Rain)

Highest recorded temperature:

(1991-2020) - 35.6C June 19, 2020

Lowest recorded temperature:

(1991 - 2020) - -31.4 February 7, 1993

Average summer temperature (low):

12.29C (1991-2021)

Average summer temperature (high):

24.08 C (1991-2021)

Average winter temperature (low):

-10.84 C (1991-2021)

Average winter temperature (high): (What you could expect for a high-temp on an average winter day. F or C.

-1.62 C (1991-2021)

What extreme weather is likely on this site? (select all that apply)

Drought
Flood
Hurricane
Tornado
Cyclone
Wild fire
Ice storm
Other (Specify)
- Blizzard

What direction do the weather systems that bring precipitation approach this site from? Are there seasonal variations in this? (The following prompts aim to answer this more broad question - this question does not require a direct answer).

Prevailing: (Which direction seems most frequent/reliable?)

North
Northeast
East
Southeast
South
Southwest
West
Northwest

Seasonal variations: Explain seasonal anomalies if any differ from the prevailing pattern.

According to the wind rose created using the tool from windatlas.ca.

In the winter, the prevailing wind is from the west.

In the spring, the three major directions are due west, due south, and north-northeast.

In the summer, the main direction is spread relatively evenly from south to west.

In the fall, the west is the prevailing wind.

The strongest winds occur in the fall and winter.

Storms: Do particular storms or weather events defy the above pattern and normal seasonal variation? If so, please describe this briefly.

Hurricanes and Nor'easters primarily bring in their strongest winds from the northeast.

Geography

What is the site's prevailing orientation?

If the whole site is on a slope that tilts South East (for example). For a site without a clear aspect, note the aspect that applies best to zone 1. For a site that is flat enough to have no aspect at all, designate the direction towards the equator.

North
Northeast
East
Southeast
South
Southwest
West
Northwest

Are any of these present on the site? (select all that apply)

Erosion
Wetland
Flatland
Hills
Valley
Rock
Slip zones
Other (specify)

What is the most severe slope on site? (The "steepest" slope. Specify units as Degrees or Percent.

4.5%

What is the highest point (altitude)? (Within the boundaries of your site. Feet or Meters above sea level).

81 meters

What is the lowest point (altitude)? (Within the boundaries of your site. Feet or Meters above sea level).

32 meters

Is this area prone to slumps and landslides? (Yes or No)

What areas of the site will require special care and attention due to the possibility of landslides?

None

Water

Are there any of these naturally (or currently) present on the site? (select all that apply)

Spring
River
Lake
Pond
Stream
Marshes
Seasonal/Temporary Flows
Other (specify)

Describe the temporary flow situation, if there is one.

Is it seasonal? Are there special triggers besides heavy rains? Is this of benefit and will need to be controlled and enhanced to serve the site or is this a problem and needs to be controlled and pacified?

There are several washes which have light flow for a short period of time during rain events. They would most likely have a short period of flow when the snow melts, although there haven't been any visits on the site during a snow melt. The erosion on these washes is light.

Access

This design adds or modifies: (select all that apply)

Driveway
Farm tracks
Walking tracks
Path or footpaths
Animal laneway
Other (specify)

Provide some details for each type of access you are adding.

Paved: There are no plans for adding pavement to the site.

Dirt: Some of the proposed swales will have bottoms that will be dirt in areas where machinery isn't expected to be required for tending or harvesting.

Gravel: Nearly all the access routes (paths, animal laneway, driveway, parking, farm tracks, swales tracks) will use the abundant sandstone as gravel for their base.

Other (specify): xxx

Flora and Fauna

Are any of these present? Special design considerations may be required. (select all that apply)

Animal species of concern
- Not enough time in site visit to identify any animal species of concern. The only fauna visible was crows flying overhead and occasional visits from gray jays. Joe Buck Brook appears to have had digger logs installed, a strategy to create pools to allow the endangered Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon to spawn. There was no evidence of any water species during the November site visit. There was evidence of moose, deer, rabbit, coyote, and raccoon scat. One scat sample may have been from a bear. There weren't any trees that had bear scratches on them that were seen during the site visit, although there are certainly bears on this peninsula.
Forest regrowth
- Natural succession appears to be taking place after a clearcut. There are several thick patches of balsam fir in the northern part of the property. Along the washes and in the brook's riparian zone, there appears to be more spruce than on other areas of the property. Most of the trees that are regrowing appear to be balsam fir, a ratio of about 5:1 of balsam fir to spruce throughout the property.
- Hardwoods appear to be pioneer birches. White and yellow birch were seen here and there, although nothing mature except along the riparian zones of the washes and brook. A few hardwoods that may be red maple are showing up as well. On the Eastern boundary, a very mature yellow birch was visited which had a DBH more than 60 centimeters. This tree was very battered by southerly winds with lots of flagging, leaning, and damage on the south side. A slightly smaller yellow birch was found nearby with a DBH of about 40 centimeters. That said, there aren't a great deal of hardwood pioneers coming through.
- Other hardwoods on the site were predominately alders and balsam poplar. A few young pin cherry trees were spotted. There may be many other species of trees on the site, but identification is difficult due to the lack of foliage. The name of the adjacent road is Westcock Hill Road, which is anglicised from the word wisqoq, which is Mi'kmaq for ash, more specifically in this area, black ash. There was no ash found during this visit, although not every square meter of ground was covered, especially in the damper areas where black ash thrives.
- Open spaces where trees are not regrowing have a fair amount of blueberry bushes, labrador tea bushes, bunchberry, sedges, ferns, lambkill, wild rose, raspberry, various mosses, winterberry holly, sheep laurel, sphagnum moss, and reindeer lichen which used to be winter food for the now extirpated caribou.
Native grassland/prairie
- It appears there may be some spots that are native grasslands, but they aren't extensive. These would be in the shallow slopes near the Joe Buck Brook and mostly on the shallow slopes in the Southwest section of the property. Looking at orthophotos from 2007, it appears that these grasslands are opportunistic, as the 2007 orthophotos show most of the land being covered in timber. I believe the land was clearcut in 2008.
Old growth forest
- There is no old growth forest. The oldest trees in the riparian zone near the brook on the western boundary are less than 25 centimeters DBH. It appears this area has been harvested repeatedly since the early 1800s. As stated before, if this property had any old growth timber, it would probably be white pine. The local shipbuilding industry was started here in the 1800s due to the abundance of white pine for ships' masts.
Plant species of special concern
- The site visit took place in mid-November, after several frosts. Most plants are not identifiable. We'll have to wait for spring to see if there are any species of concern. None were evident during the site visit. The clients don't have any information on flora and fauna on the site, other than the sighting of a white quilled porcupine. Albino porcupines are rare. That said, the white quills might be evidence of the advanced age of the animal.
Problematic non-native animals
Problematic non-native plants
Special conservation restrictions
Wetlands
- There are some damp areas. I'm not sure if they're damp year-round. One spot at a keypoint had a small patch of cattails, but it wasn't really a big patch. The areas that were walked in the very shallow slopes weren't as wet as would be expected for such shallow slopes. The only wetlands are very close to the brook in the riparian zone, which will be designated as Zone 5.
Other (specify)

Are there pests, diseases, or varmints of note? (list as appropriate)

It appears that some of the balsam firs have been infested with balsam shoot boring sawfly. There is also a great deal of standing deadwood. This might be from disease, or it might be a result of skidder tracks causing water to pool in some areas, leading to root rot.

What plant species are on site?

List what you can, common names are often helpful but species names are more specific. If any special benefit or concern, notate accordingly. For example: "Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia - N fixer, useful wood, currently spreading in poor quality stands in need of control"

It is worth noting that this list is about what is present, not about what you plan to add. If you find this list only includes a few species you already recognise, do not leave it at that. Ask a local expert to come to the site and help you identify additional species you cannot. This can be an excellent learning experience for you, and will ensure that this list, and your considerations based on it in the rest of your design work are properly robust.

Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) - Useful for timber, pulp, and firewood. Blisters on bark contain balsam fir sap, which has many uses. A popular Christmas tree. Good for wreaths and other crafts. Lower branches also good for winter insulation on exterior of dwellings. The dominant regrowth tree on this site.

Black Spruce (Picea mariana) - Useful for timber, pulp, and firewood. Bark damage produces delicious spruce gum. Nearly all of the tree is edible, in case of emergency. Spruce tea, spruce buds, inner bark, and gum is all edible and medicinal. Lower branches are good for winter insulation on exterior dwellings, especially against stone foundations. Only a small percentage of the timber trees are black spruce. Most of the Black spruce is in the riparian zones of washes and the brook.

White Spruce (Picea glauca) - Useful for timber, pulp, and firewood. Slightly lower quality spruce gum come from damaged areas on the bark. Nearly all of the tree is edible, however the needles exude an aroma that can be best compared to cat urine, making spruce teas less desirable than black spruce. As with black spruce, the buds, needles, inner bark and gum are edible and medicinal. This species is lower in abundance than the black spruce on this property.

Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) - Useful for timber, pulp, and firewood. A fast growing pioneer species tree. Buds are aromatic with a sweet smell in the spring. Bud sap and inner bark is medicinal.

White Birch (Betula papyrifera) - This pioneer species has a relatively short life in most cases. Useful for timber, furniture, firewood. Birch bark is useful for crafts and traditional construction of baskets, canoes, containers, shelter siding. Injuries to bark sometimes host chaga, a strong medicinal. Birch also produces sap in the spring. Birch is subject to fast decay, which is good for a pioneer species, as the decaying branches and logs provide the elements for a healthy forest floor.

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) - Another pioneer species with a relatively short life in a forest. Again, yellow birch decays quickly when dead and provides a good base for fungi to develop a healthy forest floor. Yellow birch bark is also great for crafts, baskets, canoes, containers, shelter siding, The timber is excellent and strong if kept dry. Yellow birch also makes very good firewood. There are patches of yellow birch spread out throughout the property, with two mature giants located along the northeast boundary.

Speckled Alder (alnus rugosa) - Alder is a pioneer species that shows up pretty much anywhere the ground has sufficient moisture. Along washes, brooks, marsh edges, in damp bogs. Alder is a nitrogen fixer, which makes it an excellent pioneer species. Higher value trees planted with alder will thrive a little better from the added soil nutrient alders provide. Alder wood is excellent for making charcoal/biochar. Speckled alder also has a number of medicinal properties to help with ailments from toothaches to sore eyes.

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) - Nearly every open patch has a number of blueberry bushes. In this region, either after a fire or more recently after a clearcut, the first plants to make their appearance are lowbush blueberries. These delicious berries are high in antioxidants. Their leaves are also reported to have medicinal properties. Some of this property could be managed as organic blueberry fields with just a little bit of work.

Raspberry (Rubus strigosus) - Raspberry canes were encountered throughout this property. The fruit is delicious and nutritious. The leaves are very medicinal.

Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) - Pretty much everywhere you look in the clearcut, you'll find labrador tea. Plenty of medicinal properties are associated with this plant. Care must be taken to utilise the plant for human consumption. Flowers are excellent providers of pollen & nectar for bees.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) - Again, nearly everywhere you look on this property, you will find bunchberry. The fruit is edible. The leaves and roots are medicinal.

Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) - Everywhere the soil is suitable, the reindeer lichen have made a home on this property. Reindeer lichen are historically the plant that provided sustenance to caribou during the winter months. Unfortunately, caribou no longer exist in this region. Reindeer lichen are also consumed by moose and deer. Humans use the lichen medicinally to treat colds, arthritis, fevers. Some parts of the world use the lichen as fodder for livestock as it is rumoured to produce sweeter milk with higher fat content.

Lambkill (Kalmia angustifolia) - Scattered throughout the property. Not a very nice plant. I haven't yet found a use for it. It's poisonous, and it has allelopathic properties.

Sphagnum Moss - Nearly everywhere there's sufficient moisture, there's sphagnum moss. I'm not really sure which species of Spagnum moss is here. The moss is known to have medicinal value, with antiseptic properties. Traditional uses include diapers, wound dressings, sponges, and sanitary towels. It is also the precursor to peat, if you wait around long enough.

Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilnum) - There are many different types of ferns on this property. My site visit didn't provide enough time to identify them all. One of the obvious ones was bracken fern, near open spaces along the brook and along the washes and damp areas.

Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) - Although I only remember seeing one plant on site, that should indicate there are more throughout the 79 hectares. The plant was identified primarily due to its persistent holding of its berries throughout the winter, even after the leaves fall. There are reported medicinal benefits from the bark. The berries should be considered poisonous. The flowers are utilised by bees for pollen & nectar.

Sedge and Grasses - Not a lot of effort has been made to provide proper identification of the grasses on the site, as the time of year didn't provide great circumstances to make identification easier. These species will need to wait until spring for proper identification. What is interesting is that orthophotos from the late 1990s show a forested land with very few clearings or open spaces for grass. Most of the grasses on this property showed up in the past 15 years.

Wild Rose (Rosa carolina) - Food & medicinal. Looks nice too when in flower. Bees love the nectar & pollen. Not very abundant here compared to other open fields in the area.

Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) - Not very abundant here, although I didn't get to cover every square meter of land. Edible fruit, great bee forage as it blooms very early. Good pioneer species to hold soil together. Birds and bears love to eat the fruit once it ripens. The wood isn't valued for its lumber potential or for use in woodworking. The bark is reported to be useful to ornament baskets.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) - I was expecting to see an abundance of red maple, but only viewed a few specimens. While not as productive as sugar maple, red maple does produce sap that can be turned into syrup. The inner bark is edible and sometimes used as a thickener. The inner bark is also used to produce purple dye. The seeds are small but edible. Red maple is a softer hardwood, not as desirable for woodworking as other hardwoods, but sometimes the grain is oriented to provide attractive furniture. Wood can be used for basket splints. It's fast growing, providing fuel for firewood. When cut close to the ground, multiple stems often rise from the stump to provide the beginnings of a coppice system that can be managed to produce wood for generations. The early flowers provide nectar and honey for native bees.

Cattail (Typha latifolia) - Cattails were viewed along the grassy areas near the brook. There was also a small patch located at one of the keypoints, where the shape of the land transitioned from convex to concave in the slope profile. This suggests that there may be a spring in this area providing enough reliable moisture to allow this patch of cattails to exist. There may be more cattails in other areas of the property in other damp areas which derive their dampness from springs. Their existence might be a way to locate springs on the property. Cattails are very edible. The roots can be converted into a protein rich flour. Young shoots are edible and have been reported to have a cucumber flavour. The roots have been used as a feedstock for creating ethanol. The potential abundance from cattails which are located near a rich nutrient source give the potential to produce 18 tonnes of biomass per hectare. That can translate to the potential to produce 20,000 litres of ethanol per hectare if so desired. Seeing that a managed cattail marsh could receive its nutrients as wastewater from farming activities or human waste, cattails can do double duty as waste remediators and fuel precursors. Cattails filter waste and turn sunshine into fuel. Sounds like a good solution. This is not to say that this property should begin fuel production with an ethanol facility, nor should it enter the business of producing foods from a typha farm. The option is there if so desired. Typha has many other uses, both in crafting, weaving, medicine, wound dressing, insulation...the list goes on.

Soil Types

What are the soil types present on site? (select all that apply)

Clay
Sandy Clay
Silty Clay
Clay Loam
Sandy Clay Loam
Silty Clay Loam
Loam
Sandy Loam
Silt Loam
Loamy Sand
Sand
Silt
Volcanic
Caliche/Limestone
Peaty
Other (specify)

What is the soil pH?

While this may vary across the site, especially if there are very different soil conditions for this response, record the general soil level. Do not assume because you do not know that you should leave this blank. pH test kits should be locally accessible, and even when they are not, pursuing a more in-depth soil test will provide you with additional useful data and also provide pH readings.

About 6.5

Are there any known toxins in the soil?

Ideally, this is a result of testing, but some circumstances (like "yeah, there's maybe 40 cars buried under there") might make the testing a bit irrelevant. List known toxins that may require special attention in the design.

If pesticides and chemicals are a major concern of your design, do not proceed with the assumption that they are there. Begin testing for this question, and develop a testing plan which will let you track if your design work is improving the situation.

No, but 2 empty hydraulic oil 20 litre buckets were found on the site, probably left by contractors from the previous clearcut.

How well do the soils drain? (Select One)

Some variations across the site will no doubt occur; this answer should reveal general site conditions.

Quickly
Moderately
Slowly
Imperceptibly

Draining too fast or slow? Outline a summary of your plan to address this.

Not applicable.

Are there areas/soils in need of repair/remediation? (Yes or No)

Describe the area where the work is needed, the needed work, and your plan to address this both as part of the short term design implementation and as part of the long term design maintenance.

xxx

Has there been heavy soil disturbance recently? (Yes or No)

Yes.

Describe the disturbance, how it affects the design work, and your plan to address this.

Construction, excavation, fill, major earthworks, etc. "Recently" increases based on the severity of the disturbance, i.e., "100 years ago this was a swamp and now it's all been filled and developed" is relevant while "the lawn was levelled last year" might not be.

This is a recently clearcut former forest. Aerial images from 2007 show nearly 100% forest cover. It is estimated that the clearing took place in 2008-2009. Along tracks of harvesting machinery there is direct physical disturbance still apparent. As a whole, the entire property has suffered soil disturbance due to the humus being exposed to direct sunlight. Humus was no more than 10 cm thick in most of the open areas.

The long term plan is to return this land to become a food forest in a manner that re-builds the soil's biological capacity.

Infrastructure

What building types are already present on the site? (select all that apply)

Barn/Livestock Housing
Coop/Poultry Housing
House
None
Outhouse
Shed/Outbuilding
Tower
Water Tank
Other (Specify)

What buildings are we adding or heavily modifying in the design? (select all that apply)

Barn/Livestock Housing
Coop/Poultry Housing
House
None
Outhouse
Shed/Outbuilding
Tower
Water Tank
Other (Specify)
- Barracks/Bunkhouse
- Common Area Building (kitchen, food processing area, showers, cafeteria, meeting/classroom)
- Greenhouses/Hoophouses

Does the site include any of these? Special care or attention may be needed. (select all that apply)

Buried Pipes
Culverts
Earth Banks
Fences
None
Ponds and dams
Power Lines
Terraces
Walls
Other (specify)

Are we adding or heavily modifying any of these to the site as part of the design? (select all that apply)

Buried Pipes
Culverts
Earth Banks
Fences
None
Ponds and dams
Power Lines
Terraces
Walls
Other (Specify)

Energy Components

Is this site "off-grid"? (Yes or No)

Yes

Is energy being harvested on the site? (Yes or No)

Not yet

What methods of power collection are being utilised? (select all that apply)

Solar
Hydro
Wind
Other (Specify)

Are there additional technologies, innovations, infrastructure, or actions that will affect plans for energy use on site? (Yes or No)

List and describe these as appropriate.

xxx

Social Components

Does this site currently serve in a larger social context which will need to be updated or maintained to continue serving the community? (Yes or No)

Yes

Describe the current social context of the site.

The entire site exists in a larger social context. The Trust that owns the land is in existence to protect and improve the land to be more biodiverse, to be more beneficial to First Nations people, and to provide benefits for generations, centuries to come.

If Yes is chosen above, How is this existing social context reflected in your design?

Explain special considerations or changes needed, and how design will do this.

The design's purpose is to encourage the Trust to consider humans as a key component of the land. Rather than go the "park" or "nature preserve" route, this damaged clearcut land should instead be re-designed from its historical use as an industrial forest to a human occupied, biodiverse, constantly beneficial, permanently improving food forest. When permaculture practices are applied to the land in a thoughtful manner, the land will take on the characteristics of "park" and "nature preserve" without eliminating the human element. It will feed, house, and teach people while simultaneously attracting wildlife of all kinds.

Does your design include ways in which the site will serve in a larger social context than it currently does? (Yes or No)

Yes

What is the larger social context?

Go into the differences between the current (pre-design) situation and the future (post-installation) situation. Brief response listing and describing as appropriate.

If left as is, this property will have the opportunity to be logged for toilet paper and 2x4s in about 50 years. There's not much in the way of food. There hasn't been any organised replanting of trees. There's lots of scrub. Now is the time to design the land to provide abundant food for the people represented by the Trust that owns the land. Tree growing swales, ponds full of fish, a market garden near the bunkhouse, and facilities for learning. Every new piece of land that the Trust acquires can be converted in the same manner. This will attract folks that are looking at a homestead lifestyle who will not be foresters or farmers, but will be guardians and caretakers for the land. This first 78 hectares can show what's possible with the other 920 hectares the Trust currently owns as well as the thousands of hectares that will be acquired in the future.

If Yes is chosen above, How will this new situation be achieved and supported by your design?

Explain the steps you will take, and how the design structure will do this.

This site is intended to demonstrate that Permaculture works. We will control water for the benefit of trees and plants. The design will allow for accelerated soil building while also being the type of design that will build soil and increase diversity naturally if for some reason humans no longer interact with the site. The site will be a training centre for those who want to replicate the system on other Trust owned sites. The site will also serve as a nursery for all the plants required on the site as well as other Trust owned sites that implement permaculture design in the future.