Dear Science COP Colleagues,
As you may know, citizen science (also known as crowd science, crowd-sourced science, networked science) is an opportunity for amateurs or nonprofessionals to get involved with scientists in scientific research. Here’s a free face-to-face workshop coming up this Saturday, May 16: The California Phenology Project, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Thousand Oaks.
Participants will learn how to contribute to a nationwide effort to track the effects of climate change on the timing of phenological events in plants. The link above contains several additional links to climate change and phenology resources. The workshop description is below.
What citizen science projects are taking place in your area? Please tell us about it.
Thanks ~ Jackie
Jackie Taylor
Science COP Moderator
Workshop Overview
Topics will include ways to teach students, friends, or park visitors about: the basics of phenology (the timing of the seasonal cycles of plants and animals); the evidence-based link between phenological events and climate; the long-term effects of climate change on plant phenology; and the risks of phenological mismatches induced by environmental change. The workshop will prepare participants to conduct their own training of students, volunteers, and members of the public to record phenological observations on campuses, at botanical gardens, and in wild habitats.
This workshop will include a presentation, discussion, hands-on practice in the field, and details of the monitoring protocols and on-line database designed by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN; www.usanpn.org) to which the public and scientists are contributing phenological observations of hundreds of plant and animal species. We will introduce the California Phenology Project (CPP; www.usanpn.org/cpp), a statewide phenological monitoring program based in 8 National Parks and 6 University of California Natural Reserves, where 30 plant species are currently being monitored across a variety of environmental gradients. We will describe the planning and implementation of the California Phenology Project, and the standardized protocols of the National Phenology Network will be introduced and practiced.
For more information, click here.