The Great Sunflower Project and the Nationa Phenology Network
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
Me and the kids have been participating in The Great Sunflower Project for 3
years and it spretty cool to help them with counting the bees.
I just got this letter from them and found this new site and it looks pretty
cool:
"In most parts of the country, nature seems to be tucking in for the winter.
Leaves are coloring and blowing in a chill wind. Our once robust sunflowers are
now burnt-brown seed-heads – picked at by wild birds. Honeybees huddle together
keeping their hives warm and safe for the winter. Bumblebee queens dive into
their underground burrows to wait out the dark months until flowers open their
blooms to them again. The phases of nature are beautiful to watch in any season.
These phases or stages of birth, growth, decay and rebirth are known to some
scientists as “phenology.”
The word comes from the Greek word phaino , which means to “show or appear.” The
first leaves of a plant show above the spring soil, flowers bloom, seeds form
behind the faded blossoms, and songbirds long-gone from the fencepost now return
to harvest the bounty. Queen bees emerge to give birth. Nature shows us these
same wonders every year, but not always at the same time.
That’s why phenology is important. And, as our climate changes, we have an
opportunity to observe and record when these events show up from year to year.
The National Phenology Network (NPN), a partner organization to the Great
Sunflower Project, is tracking observations of plant phenology, just like we are
tracking pollinators. Tracking this information helps scientists know when
allergy season starts, when crops ripen and when fire danger is high. Important
timelines, and not always predictable unless citizen scientists like us help
out. If you want to learn more, check out the NPN’s citizen science initiative
“Nature’s Notebook” and record your own observations."
Here are the links:
http://www.usanpn.org/participate
http://www.greatsunflower.org/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
years and it spretty cool to help them with counting the bees.
I just got this letter from them and found this new site and it looks pretty
cool:
"In most parts of the country, nature seems to be tucking in for the winter.
Leaves are coloring and blowing in a chill wind. Our once robust sunflowers are
now burnt-brown seed-heads – picked at by wild birds. Honeybees huddle together
keeping their hives warm and safe for the winter. Bumblebee queens dive into
their underground burrows to wait out the dark months until flowers open their
blooms to them again. The phases of nature are beautiful to watch in any season.
These phases or stages of birth, growth, decay and rebirth are known to some
scientists as “phenology.”
The word comes from the Greek word phaino , which means to “show or appear.” The
first leaves of a plant show above the spring soil, flowers bloom, seeds form
behind the faded blossoms, and songbirds long-gone from the fencepost now return
to harvest the bounty. Queen bees emerge to give birth. Nature shows us these
same wonders every year, but not always at the same time.
That’s why phenology is important. And, as our climate changes, we have an
opportunity to observe and record when these events show up from year to year.
The National Phenology Network (NPN), a partner organization to the Great
Sunflower Project, is tracking observations of plant phenology, just like we are
tracking pollinators. Tracking this information helps scientists know when
allergy season starts, when crops ripen and when fire danger is high. Important
timelines, and not always predictable unless citizen scientists like us help
out. If you want to learn more, check out the NPN’s citizen science initiative
“Nature’s Notebook” and record your own observations."
Here are the links:
http://www.usanpn.org/participate
http://www.greatsunflower.org/
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]