2-month Special Project - tracking tree leaf-out in your region
Nature's Notebook logo
I need your help on a  "special project"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
final npn logo black background
Jake F. Weltzin
Executive Director
Jake Weltzin


If possible, please observe your tree every 2 to 4 days this spring. We are most interested in collecting observations of when the trees put on their leaves. 
 
 
PS: 
As always, please be sure to record the last date there were NO "breaking leaf buds" as well as the first date that YES, you saw "Breaking leaf buds." The NOs are important to capture because they help us zero in on when a life stage, like leaf out, begins.
 
Black cherry
Black cherry. Photo Credit: 
 © James L. Reveal. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, Dept. of Systematic Biology, Botany


  
Greetings!
 
I'm reaching out to you today to personally invite you to join with me on a special project focused on your part of the nation... 
 
As Executive Director of the USA-NPN, I recently teamed with other scientists to dig into a deciduous tree dataset from Nature's Notebook.

 

Tree data from your area told us interesting things...
In short, across the entire region from Missouri to Maine, we noted that 2010 was an especially early spring, as measured by timing of leaf-out of deciduous trees.
 
(As you know, the timing of the start of spring has implications for plants and animals, cultural festivals, clean air and water, agriculture and the economy.) 
 
You probably already know something else...

2012 is shaping up to be just as unusual as 2010
Winter was weak, and spring is soon upon us:
 
-In Baltimore, fruit trees are in full bloom already.
-In New York, migratory birds such as phoebes and swamp sparrows have been seen unusually early. 
-In Minnesota, the mild winter may not have killed off all the ticks that carry Lyme disease.

 

But we need more information to confirm seasonal patterns we think we're seeing, and to understand what's happening this year.

 

This is where you come in. 

 

We're using deciduous forest tree leaf-out as a sign of spring, and we need more observations on 9 target tree species in your area:  

jake table

Please consider adding one or more individual trees for one or more of the species above to observe this spring.
 
Would you help us observe 
these trees this spring? 

 

Here is an opportunity for you to team with scientists 
who are literally using your data right now to answer questions and to find out what your observations mean when combined with many other observations across the region.
  
If you'd like to help with this special assignment, please follow these steps: 

 

1. Add one or more trees, for one or more of these species, to your personal list of plants in Nature's Notebook.
2. Print your datasheets. 
3. Go outside and make observations, then enter your data online afterward.

 

Thank you for considering helping me track these trees in your area. We'll provide you a report on our findings later in the year.

 

Sincerely,
 
 
 
 
Jake F. Weltzin
Executive Director, USA-NPN