USA-NPN Geographic Affiliates and groups using Nature's Notebook highlighted

The USA-NPN is happy to announce the launch of a map-based tool for highlighting Geographic Affiliates and organizations that are using Nature's Notebook to track plant and animal phenology. USA-NPN Geographic Affiliates are groups that are geographically organized, ranging in scope from a town or university to several states, and organized for the purpose of observing phenology. Both Geographic Affiliates and groups such as Master Gardener chapters using Nature's Notebook to track plant and animal phenology are invited to self-register on the map on the USA-NPN website, at www.usanpn.org/geo_affiliates.

With some programming on your end, members of your organization can now enter data into Nature's Notebook without leaving your website!

We have been approached many times in the past few years by established citizen science projects wanting to invite their participants to track plant or animal phenology using Nature's Notebook as a complement to what they already ask their participants to do through their own program. A barrier has been that up until now, individuals participating in Nature's Notebook and another program had to visit the two project websites and enter data separately into each program's database.  

We are excited to announce that we have developed a web service whereby participants in another program can now enter phenology observations into Nature's Notebook from the other program's web page. We are currently working on implementing this with YourGardenShow.com and several other partners have expressed interest in using this technology. In order to build the interface on your site so that participants in your program can register themselves, register a site, and enter data into Nature's Notebook, a significant programming effort is required on the partner's end. Please contact Theresa Crimmins, USA-NPN Partnerships & Outreach Coordinator ([email protected]) for more information.

Android and iPhone Nature's Notebook apps on the way!

We are in the process of developing apps for both Android and iPhones through which users can participate in Nature's Notebook. We hope to have these apps functional and available by the beginning of the fall observing season.

The USA-NPN Data Set Registry Tool could be part of your NSF-required Data Management Plan

The National Science Foundation recently started enforcing a long-standing data policy which requires that all submitted proposals include a Data Management Plan. We'd like to encourage our partners submitting phenology-related proposals to consider leveraging our Data Set Registry Tool in fulfilling this requirement.  Find out more at www.usanpn.org/participate/dataset.

Coming very soon: The addition of abundance and intensity estimates to our observation protocols

Starting next week, in addition to the standard "Do you see..." questions that comprise our observation protocols, you will have the opportunity to report on the intensity of the phenophase for plants and the abundance of animals you observe. For example, you'll be able to report what percent of the tree canopy was filled in with leaves, how many open flowers you saw, or how many birds you heard or saw.