Volunteers in New Program to Monitor Signs of the Seasons
Contact: Catherine Schmitt (catherine.schmitt@umit.maine.edu)
Joe Carr (joe.carr@umit.maine.edu)
ORONO — Spring is the season of firsts: first robin on the lawn, first blush of maples flowering in the swamps, first fragrant lilac bloom. Across Maine, many people enjoy watching the seasons as they unfold. Now, those observations can contribute to scientific studies through a new program from University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant.
Volunteers in “Signs of the Seasons: A Maine Phenology Project” monitor their backyards and neighborhoods for changes in natural events, such as flowering in plants like dandelion and forsythia, and the migration of animals like monarch butterflies and loons. The study of such changes is called phenology. These seasonally timed events vary from year to year and from place to place, in response to differences in weather and climate.
“Participants in this program will be helping scientists who are trying to understand how our environment is changing,” explains Esperanza Stancioff, an educator with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant. “Climate change can seem like such an abstract thing. But by collecting data on common plants and animals, citizens can contribute to scientists’ understanding of the local effects of a global phenomenon.”
“Many people—farmers, hunters, fishermen, birders, and gardeners—used to track these events as a part of their daily routine, and many still do,” says Abe Miller-Rushing, the science coordinator at Acadia National Park and Schoodic Education and Research Center. “Their records can provide a way to ‘see’ climate change on the landscape, while providing information needed to adequately understand the changes that are taking place here in Maine.”
Additional partners in the program include the USA National Phenology Network, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Audubon, and climate scientists and educators at the University of Maine. Signs of the Seasons volunteers receive training, a field kit and handbook, and the opportunity to participate in ongoing educational programs in exchange for twice monthly monitoring.
Stancioff, Miller-Rushing and Beth Bisson of Maine Sea Grant will be presenting the program at several upcoming events including Maine Garden Day (March 26), Maine Environmental Education Association Conference (April 1), Maine Garden School Day (April 9), UMaine Citizen Science Symposium (May 12 & 13), and multiple training programs. To learn more or find out how to get involved, please call 1-800-244-2104 or visit the program website http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/