Phenology: In the Footsteps of Thoreau

Do you revel at the first reds and yellows of fall? Do you enjoy the arrival of the Eastern Bluebirds and Monarch Butterflies in the spring? Do you smile when you realize blueberry picking season has arrived? Do you wonder how a bear knows when to den up or a Red Maple to send its sugar flowing?

Flowering, leafing, migration, hibernation and reproduction are life events often signaled by changes in things like temperature and precipitation. The timing of these life events is important and they are changing as the climate warms.

The study of these life events is called phenology. Naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau started noting the first flowers, leaves and migratory birds of the spring back in 1851.

Join us in following his footsteps. We will appreciate, observe, and — like any good Citizen Scientist — take data to record the signs of the seasons.