Nature’s Calendar

Inspired to study the impact of global warming in New England, a Boston University professor, Richard Primack, has begun a citizen science study to monitor local plants and animals. Primack discovered historical records of the flowering times of plants in Concord, Massachusetts, recorded by H.D. Thoreau in the 1850’s. They have begun to record similar data in modern Concord.

In an interview on WFCR’s field notes, Primack states they have discovered that the dates of wildflower blooms are a week earlier than they were during Thoreau’s time. He claims that the Boston area is 2 degrees celius warmer than 150 years ago, half of which is due to global warming, the other portion due to urbanization. He states that there is a risk that summer temperatures will continue to rise to the point where many spring wildflowers will be unable to survive either due to the temperature increase or the drier soils.

What can you do?

We are collecting observations of many spring events, such as bird migrations, flowering, and insect appearance. You can help us by making these simple observations around your home–e.g., in your garden, at your birdfeeder, in your town forest–or anywhere in New England. Just download our recording form and follow the instructions. The information you collect will help us to document how climate change is affecting plants and animals in New England.

Here are some links to other similar projects:

• Project Budburst, a national citizen-scientist phenology project.
• Journey North, the nation’s premiere “citizen science” project for children.
• Cornell Bird Projects, seasonal and year-round bird monitoring projects.