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As summer winds down, we have several opportunities for you to share the important work that you do among the phenology community!
Next month, we will be hosting a symposium and reception here in Tucson to reflect on 10 years of the USA-NPN and Nature's Notebook and envision our future directions. We hope that you, our partners, will be a part of that event either in person or from afar! Read on to learn how you can get involved.
Don't forget to submit your Local Phenology Program (LPP) for our first annual PhenoChampion Award. This award honors an LPP that made exceptional progress toward meeting their program goals for data collection, education, and/or outreach
in 2017. The deadline is this Friday, Sept 14th. Learn more below!
Sincerely,
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What's new at Nature's Notebook and USA-NPN
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You're invited to our 10-year anniversary event
Join the National Coordinating Office in Tucson, AZ on October 19th to reflect on the last 10 years of the USA-NPN and envision the next 10. The event will include a symposium with
presentations from 10 partners from across the country, a reception
highlighting Local Phenology Programs, and other activities to foster
s
haring and new collaborations among our partners. RSVP to
[email protected]
by September 14th.
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Can't attend the event? Take part from afar!
There are two different ways you can participate:
1. Send us a photo of your program! These can be photos of observers, workshops, outreach events or other activities.
Send your photo (with photo credit), description/quote, and the name of your program. Please ensure that any volunteers in photos have signed photo releases. These will be displayed on a slideshow during the event reception.
2. Send us any phenology-related poster that you use to tell others about your program! These can be posters displaying results of your data collection efforts, describing your outreach activities, or any other description of your phenology-related efforts. Just
send us the digital file and we will print it. We will be hanging these in a special poster area for the event.
We look forward to showing off your programs to the USA-NPN community this October!
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Phenophase photo guides help you observe
Phenophase photo guides provide helpful additional information about selected species on the
Nature's Notebook list. The guides include natural history information, photos of phenophases, and the
Nature's Notebook phenophase definitions. You can find them at the bottom of select species profile pages like this one for
hemlock woolly adelgid.
We are creating guides for Campaign species first, as well as vetting guides developed by Local Phenology Programs. Have a guide to share? Use our
Phenophase Photoguide templates which includes the correct language for the phenophase definitions. Once your guide is complete,
send it to us!
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Recent happenings in the field of phenology
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Untrained observers record high-quality data
In order to better understand precision and accuracy in phenology data collection and how that varies by training level, researchers at Acadia National Park's Schoodic Institute compared data from three different observer types - expert professional scientists, trained citizen scientists, and untrained citizen scientists. The authors found that untrained citizen scientists recorded data that was as precise and sometimes more accurate than trained citizen scientists, likely due to a
misinterpretation of materials presented at trainings. The authors
recommend that informative datasheets, mid-season assessments
and calibration trainings may help to ensure high-quality data.
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Recent phenology papers worth a read
A
PLOS Ecology Community blog post features recommended phenology reads from the recent published literature.
Included are
studies of amphibian breeding phenology, the use of TV
coverage of a
cycling race to show the advance in spring onset, and
the impact of
snowmelt timing on alpine plants.
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State of the Nation's forests
A new annual report from the US Forest Service summarizes forest health across the US. The report includes 15 chapters focused on impacts to forest health from disease, drought, fire, insects, and other stressors.
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More ways to get involved
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Share your phenology work at Cit Sci 2019!
The Citizen Science Association biennial conference will be held in Raleigh, NC March 13-17, 2019. Requests for abstracts are now open for presentations and posters. Consider submitting a presentation about your
Nature's Notebook activities! Deadline is September 21, 2018.
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New Nature's Notebook curriculum guide
A new Citizen Science Curriculum Guide from coauthors at the University of Minnesota provides a comprehensive guide to teaching students about phenology and how to incorporate
Nature's Notebook as a teaching tool. The Guide covers topics such as building science skills, contributing to citizen science, and conducting independent investigations.
Learn more »
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See how high schoolers are learning about phenology in Minnesota
A great new video from University of Minnesota Extension Citizen Science shows how high school students are using
Nature's Notebook to contribute to research led by professor Rebecca Montgomery of the University of Minnesota.
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Especially for Local Phenology Leaders
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Apply for the new PhenoChampion Award!
Yuu still have a few days to apply for the
Local Phenology Program PhenoChampion Award
! We seek to recognize the outstanding achievements of our Local Phenology Program Partners. The award program is open to any LPP that actively collected observational data using Nature's Notebook in 2017. The grand prize includes your choice of a customized trail sign or a Nature's Notebook gear package for your observers! Application packets are due Friday, September 14th.
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"Spotting together",
Photo: Suzanne Mrozak
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LPP Highlight: Arnold Arboretum Tree Spotters
Each newsletter this year, we will highlight one of our wonderful Local Phenology Programs. Want your LPP to be featured? Email
[email protected]
! This month we highlight the the Arnold Arboretum Tree Spotters of Boston, MA.
The Arnold Arboretum Tree Spotters program was established in 2015 to engage citizen scientists in collecting data to support research of Harvard Professor Elizabeth Wolkovich. Her research explores the impact of changes in climate on plant communities in temperate systems. Suzanne Mrozak, Certified Local Phenology Leader extraordinaire, has trained hundreds of volunteers to record data in Nature's Notebook. She leads her Tree Spotters in many activities, including monthly walks around the Arboretum called "Spotting Together", a phenology book club, the monthly Spot On! newsletter, an active Facebook page, and two annual gatherings for volunteers to meet and share experiences.
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