25 September 2012 Fall into Phenology!

One of my favorite things about fall has always been, and still is, the opportunity to look at the beautiful color changes in the mountains.

With the advent of the first day of fall, I want to share with you a site where you can report fall leaf color changes, and help in a nationwide program that tracks the progress of plants as they change throughout the seasons. Called Project Budburst, this initiative enables us regular citizens to contribute data that helps scientists learn more about plants' budding, flowering, fruiting, leaf out, color change and leaf off; in order to track seasonal responses to climate. The science of studying the different phases of a life cycle is called phenology, and Project Budburst is a program that brings phenology to life for all of us. I am particularly interested in this after working on the seasonality project this past summer in Alaska. Carolyn Livensperger, a master's student on our project, kept track of the phenology of select plants on our tundra research site; vital information to the project as it studies changing seasonality on the tundra. Imnaviat Days

A few weeks ago, I took an online class for educators with Project Budburst. The class was a really great way to introduce me to the protocols Project Budburst uses, and led me through the steps to pick out a plant for my Earth/Environmental Science class to track throughout this fall season. We chose a red maple tree just off the trail near our campus.

As an educator, there are plenty of opportunities for professional development through Project Budburst, and you'll find great ideas for incorporating this citizen science project into your classes! Just posted on the PolarTREC website is a lesson plan designed by teacher Nancy Bigelow; check it out for great ideas to use as a guided inquiry lesson. As regular citizens, I encourage all of you to check out the site…the fall campaign is on to Fall into Phenology! It's fun, easy, and really helps contribute to ecological knowledge across the United States!