WhiTehall FoReST is a research facility occupying nearly 850 acres. The land houses several offices and labs, including UGa and federal facilities. “Whitehall is where most of my thesis data will come from,” Taylor says quietly. “What we’re doing here is really significant. What kind of forest are our grandkids going to be experiencing? What kind of experience will our grandkids have?” 00564-013b
been deliberately planted there. “Others have been naturally recruited,” explains Taylor. The researchers take careful inventory and study soil cores. They watch, measure, and crunch endless amounts of data. Above the rising morning sun, which radiates uncomfortable, steamy heat, there is a blur of wing: A hawk passes. Mosquitoes hum around ankles, eager to feed upon sweaty arms and legs. The researchers recently dealt with an infestation of caterpillars that munched the leaves off the trees in the research area. Taylor and companions scan warily for poison ivy, one plant that is proven to thrive in a hotter, drier climate, according to Monahan’s research. Mother Nature, perhaps a little hot and bothered herself, knows precisely how to keep things interesting when the heat is turned up. After all, it is her forest. Dynamic, throbbing, closely watched, it watches back. n
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