If Will Rogers were alive today, he might comment that everyone talks about climate change but nobody does anything about it.
We know that is not accurate. Legions of professionals, including scientists and engineers, have taken on the enormous task of better understanding (and even doing something) about climate change. Traditionally, the general public — while certainly having access to media reports on climate change — has not been actively involved in research on climate change.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of programs and projects designed to connect researchers with interested members of the public who collect data on their own, while following defined research protocols. Although not new, these so-called “citizen science” efforts are rapidly evolving. The Internet has made participation in citizen science efforts accessible to a widespread audience of interested lay people. As a result, tens of thousands of citizen scientists have contributed to a variety of research projects in recent years. Useful data is being collected and many scientists are actively recruiting people to help them in their research.
Citizen science programs come in all shapes and sizes. Some programs focus on asking individuals to make simple observations and measurements in their backyards and local surroundings. For example, in Project Feederwatch, volunteers record the birds they see during the winter at backyard feeders. CoCoRHaS asks participants to measure the amount of precipitation where they live. Other citizen science projects ask participants to observe the migration of birds and other animals, note the presence or absence of pollinators such as butterflies and bees, and determine the quality of the night sky.
I am the Director of a NEON partner called Project BudBurst, which collects data on how plants respond to changing climate by having volunteers observe and monitor the timing of flower, leafing, and fruiting in plants.
There are times when I find it challenging to make the connection between the high tech, cutting-edge efforts of the NEON scientists and engineers and what we do through Project BudBurst. NEON is a highly sophisticated system of towers and sensors that collect numerous ecological measurements. In contrast, Project BudBurst asks individuals to go outside and make simple observations; we essentially engage them as ‘human sensors.’ I think that both approaches are needed to better understand environmental change.
Other NEON blogs will provide insight as to the value of a continental-scale, highly integrated system of sensors to advance the frontiers of climate and ecological science. In this blog, I focus on the value of a continental network of human sensors helping to advance the frontiers of climate and ecological science through participation in Project BudBurst.
The underlying mission of Project BudBurst is simple – get folks from all walks of life to be more aware of the changes in the natural world around them. Specifically, Project BudBurst is a field campaign designed to engage the public in collecting data about plant phenology throughout the US. Participants take careful observations of events such emergence of first leaves, first flowers, and first ripe fruit of a diversity of native and non-native plant species, including trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, weeds, and ornamentals. Participation does not take any special instruments or equipment, is open to all, and our web site has all the information you need to get started.
Project BudBurst is relatively new, having started in 2007 with a pilot project to determine the level of interest from the public. It turns out there was a lot of interest. Thousands of individuals have signed up to observe the timing of phenophases of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in their local environments. It has been rewarding to hear of the enthusiasm and excitement from participants of all ages and backgrounds.
I found it even more exciting when my colleague, Kayri Havens of the Chicago Botanic Garden, compared the 2007-09 first flower observations from the Chicago region to 50 years of first flower observations by Swink and Wilhem published in the Plants of the Chicago Region (1994). In her comparisons, Kay found 15 species that were included in the historical Chicago study and Project BudBurst. Seven of the species had a first flower earlier in one or more of the last 3 years than had been seen by Swink and Wilhelm. In some cases, the first flower was several weeks earlier. These species included forsythia, spiderwort, dogtooth violet, red maple, may apple, common lilac, and black locust. Plants really do have a story to tell us about changes in the environment.
So this Earth Day, don’t just stop and smell the flowers — sign up for Project BudBurst and let us know the dates of flowering. I think Will Rogers would be pleased to see that folks from all around the country are trying to do something about climate change – in the form of making useful observations of the world around them. In fact, I like to think he would be a Project BudBurst observer.
Sandra Henderson is a science educator at the University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Project BudBurst is co-managed by the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach and the Chicago Botanic Garden. In addition to NEON, BudBurst partners with the USA-NPN and UCLA CENS. Support for Project BudBurst has been provided by NSF, NASA, USGS, US FWS, and the National Geographic Education Foundation.