Since 2008, individuals – both professional and volunteers – interested in various scientific aspects of society America have been working toward gaining data on the “important phases in the annual life cycles of plants and animals.” This has been coordinated through ‘Nature’s Notebook,’ a multi-taxa phenology observation program based in Virginia. The idea behind the program is, that to understand the animals in American society, the USA National Phenology Network is investigating both plant and animal activity throughout the nation. Today, the program boasts over 2,500 active participants and contributions from 2.3 million people.
Just two weeks ago, a presentation was held to publicize these findings. Held at the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey in Virginia at the Office of Communications and Publishing, the presentation provided a general overview of the network, its partners and participants as well as local and national-scale projects. It also looked at invasive species, as well as trends in phenology in the past and what is likely to happen in this realm in the future.