Timing is Everything- Nature’s Notebook

 

We saw the first green leaf unfolding on a weeping willow tree today.  It was a tree growing in the loop of the off ramp from Route 199 onto Mooretown Road.  I can only wonder whether the heat from the road and passing vehicles enticed it to unfold so early, or if others all over the area are also opening on this warm, early February afternoon.

 

 

It can be hard to remember from year to year exactly when we see the first green leaf of spring, the first daffodil bloom, or the first new growth on our roses.  What combination of sunlight and warmth causes leaves and blossoms to appear at the end of winter?  What determines when leaves begin to turn golden and scarlet each fall?

 

 

Researchers recognized that observing and recording the movements and patterns of insects and other animals, and the growth patterns of plants, is one way to better understand our climate, and the impact of fluctuations in weather from year to year.  This field of study is known as phenology.

What is Phenology? (…and Why Do We Care?)

Phenology is the study of the timing of life around us, and how the timing of one species interacts with and affects the timing of the activities of other species.  Are there enough pollinators flying when the apple trees bloom?  Is there food available when native bees emerge?  It helps researchers better understand the complex interactions of ecosystems.

 

 

Gardeners often keep records on the happenings in our yards and in the wider landscape.  We may note when the robins return each spring and when favorite shrubs bloom, and for how long.  I keep records of the growth and development of plants through photographs.  But those photos don’t necessarily record the opening of the first bud, or the damage caused by the first frost of winter.  My photo records are more general.

 

 

Nature’s Notebook

Nature’s Notebook, a project of the USA Phenology Network, is a systematic attempt to collect records from amateur observers all over the United States to record and document the effects of climate change on an array of plants, animals and ecosystems.  Researchers, and the curious, have access to this data.

 

 

Peninsula Tree Stewards have been invited to participate in a Nature’s Notebook campaign to study redbud trees, Cercis species.  Researchers want data about the phenology of both Eastern and Western redbuds to study how bloom time affects their ability to interact with pollinating insects.  How well each tree is pollinated determines how many flowers develop into seed pods.  I followed the links in the invitation to the Redbud Phenology Project, where I learned how to join the network of citizen scientists making observations of trees in our area.

 

 

The Redbud Phenology Project

Participants in the redbud project observe each tree’s leaves, flowers and fruit to answer ten questions related to when buds emerge, when flowers bloom and fade, when leaves grow and change color, and when fruit develop and fall.  When these things are present, the observe quantifies how many structures are in each stage of growth.  At each observation the observer can record additional data about weather, and other factors in the environment that may affect the tree.  A ‘No’ answer to each question provides as much data as a ‘Yes.’

Nature’s Notebook and the USAPN offer excellent online training to prepare each volunteer to make accurate observations.  An online video features one of the scientists who has requested the data, Dr. Jorge Santiago-Blay, describing his research.  A USAPN staff member explains how the data is collected and what volunteers agree to do when they participate in the project.

 

 

Citizen Science Helps Us Learn More

Setting up an account with Nature’s Notebook required working through some online instructional materials about the program and protocols. It was simple, clear, and took about 45 minutes to complete.  Each observer creates a Nature’s Notebook account linked to their email and username.  During this process, one sets up one or more observation sites, and then registers the specific plant or plants, and any animals, you intend to observe.  Participants observe and record their observations at least once a week.  Nature’s Notebook awards badges to observers for participation in specific campaigns, like the redbud project.

 

 

I am observing four different dogwood trees and three redbud trees in my own yard.   I am most interested in the redbud project, but decided to observe the dogwood trees, too.  Even though it is early February, and the trees remain dormant, Nature’s Notebook still wants these records to demonstrate the dormant period for each species.  Recording the observations online is simple and takes just a few minutes each time.  I intend to add additional species to my ‘Observation Deck’ in the coming weeks.

 

 

Anyone interested in the animals and plants around them can participate in this ‘citizen’s science’ project.  There is no expense to participate beyond the time you wish to invest.

No credentials are required to participate in Nature’s Notebook.  There are extensive instructional and support materials online to help anyone feel confident in their ability to accurately log what they observe with each species. The support materials serve as a beautifully illustrated field guide to each species and are interesting and useful whether one is formally observing that species, or not.

 

 

Participants are encouraged to select an easily accessible observation site that they visit frequently.  It can be a public space like a park, the area where you work, or your own yard.  It could also be the location of a Master Gardener or Master Naturalist project where you volunteer.  Receiving observations from multiple micro-climates about the same species yields important information to the researchers.  A participant can set up multiple sites with an unlimited number of subjects within each site.

 

Change is the Only Constant

 

“Even in perceived chaos, there is order and pattern.

A cosmic undercurrent running through all things, which no story is immense enough to contain.”

Rick Rubin, from The Creative Act: A Way of Being

 

Is it too early for Magnolia stellata to bloom?  I noticed white Magnolia flowers unfolding today on a tree in a shopping center parking lot on Monticello Road.  They were a welcome sight.  But I know that there is colder weather ahead and wonder how the early bloomers will respond if ice and snow follow these few warm days.

Bees come out to feed on our Oregon grape hollies and Hellebores on warm winter days like these, and birdsong fills the air.  Looking back through photos of early February in years past, the landscape looked much different that it does today.  There was more ice and snow, and our plants were still largely dormant.

 

 

These are the simple things we notice each day as seasons shift and change.  And these are the sorts of things that the USGS, which sponsors the USA Phenology Network, would like to know.  Climate scientists and meteorologists want to understand and predict what is happening to our seasons and to our environment to help us plan and to respond to change.  Each of us can help collect the data that makes their work possible.

Anyone who wants to get involved can begin right here.

 

 

All Photos by Elizabeth McCoy, Master Gardener Tree Steward