"The Neighborhood Project": Havenwoods | Havenwoods Forest

Listen: The Havenwoods neighborhood definitely has the most unique landscape of all the neighborhoods in this year's Neighborhood Project. It's primarily built on a grid, but in some areas, there are reasonably large tracts of unoccupied land. What they sacrifice in proximity and walkability, they gain in other advantages, like the formerly open fields that have been occupied by brand new industrial investments. Another huge advantage? The neighborhood's namesake, Havenwoods Forest. If you're driving (or biking) down Sherman between Silver Spring and Mill Road, you'll be surrounded by housing units. Then you turn onto Douglas and all of a sudden, you see the sign above. And as you take the bend, a bona fide forest unfolds in front of you. Who knew? If you did, kudos to you. For everybody else, you almost have to see it to believe it. Or, I guess, you could hear it too... Sue Johanson, Environmental Education Specialist/Assistant Superintendent at Havenwoods Forest, gives a short introduction of the Havenwoods State Forest:

Sue took me out on a 30 minute trail walk, and fortunately, I brought my microphone. Listen to the Havenwoods Forest: There were so many quality clips of Sue talking about the wildlife and other features of the forest, it was quite difficult to select what to include in the final piece. Fortunately, you can hear some juicy out takes below.

There's a lot of wildlife at Havenwoods. Sue goes through a list off the top of her head: And there's even something for you bird and coyote watchers too:

 Not to be outdone by the fauna, fern is also quite well represented in Havenwoods:

As forests go, Havenwoods is actually quite young. It was once a farm and military complex. In the following clip, I've combined three different sections of Sue giving some of the forest's deeper history: And finally, something I've never included before -- a little bit of ambient. For many interviews, I like to capture the sound of the surrounding area, especially if we're someplace loud like a forest. While we were walking, I forced Sue to stand quietly with me while we listened to the chirps and the cheeps and if you listen closely, the sounds of traffic in the distance: Want to learn more about Havenwoods? You can start at  the Havenwoods Economic Development Corporation’s wonderful website. Also, you’re probably more familiar with the neighborhood than you realize — take a drive somewhere between 43rd to 76 th Street and Silver Spring to Good Hope and look at the neighborhood with new eyes. P r o d u ced by: Adam Carr