LEARN ABOUT CREATURES

(IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS)

this project is called LOCAL BIOLOGY (until we think of something better)

Making a seasonal calendar

Why make a seasonal calendar? There are already so many of them

OK, first of all...there aren't a lot of seasonal calendars that are easy to find and use.

When I was growing up, I only had the vaguest sense of the seasons. Oh sure, I knew the basics: leaves falling, flowers opening, birds migrating. But really, the way that I lived my life didn't make it very easy to pay attention to the phase of the moon, tides, or weather. I never built up expectations about which birds were supposed to migrate, so it became nearly impossible to relate that to the calendar of when birds were expected to arrive or depart. This is reason alone...complete ignorance of seasons doesn't help the earth

Today, phenological data is important. "Phenological data" is the data that is collected about when natural events occur. Since our planet is warming, scientists are trying to document how fast these changes are happening--because we are having a real problem. There are projects that will help you learn how to identify key moments in certain species lives, which helps paint a picture of how global climate change is effecting life around us.

Also, since this is all changing, it seems like now would be a very good time to start learning about when exactly certain things are supposed to happen. It might be the last chance!

Everyone can do it

Today is a great day to start...there's always something going on, no matter where you live. In the dead of winter, or heat of the summer, on the greyest most depressing day. All days and nights are full of the goings-ons of wildlife.

Making a calendar for yourself can help remind you, and others, of who should be coming around, what to look out for. Then you will have something to compare anything unusual, or unseasonal.

When I moved to Minnesota, I got a "Weatherguide" calendar, which I love so much. Every week is marked with what sort of species are supposed to be doing what. Unfortunately, the book just sits buried under stuff most of the time, so I don't keep up with it.

It seems like no one builds up an appreciation of seasons very quickly. It takes a few years of observing all the time for the place you live to start to sink in.

How the calendar works on this site

Everyone can add events to the natural calendar. Add them for your town. You could add information for fish, plants, bears, snakes, ants, fungi, birds, microrhyzae...any organism you like.

You add the events for when things are supposed to happen. This way, looking into the near future, you will start to see what's coming up.

Even more important to adding events into the calendar, adding information about 'What to expect.' What good is it to read a calendar about events that you don't get to notice yourself? Saying things like 'look for this mushroom on moist logs after spring rains' will help other people to also understand what is happening.

If all goes as expected, we will come out of this with a richer sense of time, place and seasons.

Why don't you just fill in the calendar from existing databases

Really, what fun would it be if you didn't have to go yourself and try to find out when the garter snake makes babies? If we filled this information in for you, you would have no reason to find out for yourself. It isn't fun to learn when all the people before you did the important work. There's nothing left for you to do!

Also, it's hard to learn about every organism all at once. You need time outside, taking in just one or two new birds at a time. Seeing how they fly, what they are doing, what they sound like. With phenology, slow and steady wins the race...so we will all make our own little calendars, and draw from each other to make our experience of our own places more meaningful. This will help us give back to our land.

That's nice..but I have no idea where to start

Oh good, glad you decided you wanted to do this. We will help you, of course!

Half the time, all you need is a kick-start.

Here are some ideas of seasonal information to pay attention to

  • Do leaves grow more when the moon is more full?
  • When do dandelions appear?
  • When do leaves start changing?
  • When are hummingbirds around?
  • When do cactus flowers bloom?
  • When do trees make pollen?

How to add to the calendar

  1. Add an item to the natural events calendar
  2. In the near future, you will be able to work with other calendar systems (like iCal or google calendars), so you can get information on devices that help you remember time-related events
  3. If you actually see something from the calendar, or even something you notice, Record an Observation

Phenology resources

An ongoing list

By

Chacha
Posted on 27 July 2008