Habitats+and+Locations

=__Habitats__=

1. Community Gardens
A community garden is a piece of land cultivated by members of a community, especially in an urban area. A community garden encourages an urban community’s food security, allowing citizens to grow their own food or donate what they have grown. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community+garden) There are thirteen (13) active community gardens located throughout the city of Cambridge, serving as areas of beautification, vegetable production, and meeting places. The gardens are divided into plots and shared by groups of residents. The Cambridge Conservation Commission office encourages the formation and continuance of the community gardens.

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 * ===Community Gardens visited=== || ===**Community Garden Descriptions**===
 * Lesley Community Garden || The Lesley Garden, located in Cambridge, MA, is a student created organic vegetable garden. The garden is located just behind 24 Mellen St, on Lesley University's Doble campus. Each year, students take responsibility for the regular maintenance and future development of the garden, and under the guidance of Dr. Susan Rauchwerk learn about the biological, ecological, and social impacts of how food is grown. Students also learn the history of agriculture, soil science, garden chemistry, sustainable gardening, community involvement, and cooking. ||
 * Maher Park Community Garden Fresh Pond || This community garden is located at 650 Concord Avenue at Neville Manor nursing home. It consists of a wide variety of vegetables and flowers. Half of the garden is managed by the nursing home residents and the other half is managed by the city Cambridge residents. ||
 * Alewife Brook Reservation || Alewife Brook Reservation is located adjacent to Alewife Brook Parkway T-station. It is approximately 120-acres. A large proportion of the park is wetland, including the Little River, though there is also a wooded upland, flower community garden, and meadow area. The reservation serves as a habitat for numerous indigenous and migratory birds. Additionally, the park's ponds (Little Pond and Blair Pond) provide spring spawning grounds for anadromous herring, which migrate from the Atlantic Ocean via the Mystic River and Alewife Brook, a tributary which, in turn, drains the Little River. ||
 * = media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24+Mellen+Street,+Cambridge,+MA&aq=&sll=42.373616,-71.109733&sspn=0.077232,0.154324&g=Cambridge,+MA&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=24+Mellen+St,+Cambridge,+Massachusetts+02138&ll=42.380696,-71.11778&spn=0.003413,0.004823&t=h&z=14&output=embed" width="382" height="315" ||= media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=650+Concorde+Ave,+Cambridge+MA&aq=&sll=42.593512,-71.134606&sspn=0.615682,1.234589&t=h&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=650+Concord+Ave,+Cambridge,+Massachusetts+02138&z=14&ll=42.388905,-71.149032&output=embed" width="382" height="315" ||= media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=186+Alewife+station,+Cambridge,+MA&aq=&sll=42.395535,-71.142408&sspn=0.003412,0.004823&t=h&g=186+Alewife+Center,+Cambridge,+MA&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Alewife+Station+Access+Rd,+Cambridge,+Massachusetts+02140&ll=42.396736,-71.143277&spn=0.00965,0.01929&z=14&output=embed" width="371" height="307" ||
 * = Leslie Community Garden ||= Maher Community Garden Fresh Pond ||= Alewife Brook Reservation Community Garden ||
 * = Leslie Community Garden ||= Maher Community Garden Fresh Pond ||= Alewife Brook Reservation Community Garden ||

2. Grassland
A grassland is a grassy, windy, partly-dry biome, a sea of grass. Almost one-fourth of the Earth's land area is grassland. In many areas, grasslands separate forests from deserts. Deep-rooted grasses dominate the flora in a grassland; there are very few trees and shrubs in a grassland, less than one tree per acre. There are many different words for grassland environments around the world, including savannas, pampas, campos, plains, steppes, prairies and veldts.

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 * = ===Grass Land Habitat Visited=== ||
 * < Alewife Brook Parkway Reservation ||
 * < Fresh Pond Nature Preserve ||

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3. Forest
The forests of Massachusetts are temperate deciduous forests and these forests are located in cool, rainy areas. The trees in this habitat lose their leaves in Fall and regrow them in Spring. Temperate deciduous forests are found in the middle latitudes around the globe and have four distinct seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, these forests are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, there are smaller areas of these forests, in South America, Africa, and Australia. The growing season in these forests is about 6 months long. The soil in the deciduous forests is quite fertile, since it is often enriched with falling leaves, twigs, logs, and dead organisms.

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 * ===Forest Habitats Visited=== ||
 * Alewife Brook Reservation ||
 * Fresh Pond Reservation ||

4. Bike Path
Another data collection location included the Somerville Community Path or commonly referred to as the Davis Square Bike Path. This bike path is a mixed-use path in Somerville Massachusetts, from the Cambridge border near Davis Square to the Cambridge border near Lechmere Square. Segments of the path feature pavement interspersed with brick, and surrounded by grass, trees, pedestrian connections to nearby streets, and a community garden.