Multiple approaches to getting students observing the timing of leaf out in the time of school closures.
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| Hanover H.S. Student, Celeste Farrell monitoring Bud Burst at her schoolyard during school closure |
From the Northern-most Field Site, student volunteer based monitoring:
I am taking data with Celeste's help with the 12 core trees
so that we can continue determining the growing season. She is standing
at tree #13 (sugar maple) which is one of the trees that has been in the study
the longest and we were practicing social distancing as we marked trees with
flags and green twisty ties. I will be uploading data as I collect it.
Only the box elder had puffy buds. The maples are next! -Maryann Postans, Hanover High School, New Hampshire
From the Southern-most Field Site teacher led photo sharing approach:
Dr. Elisa Margarita, teacher at Brooklyn Technical School in New York, has gone out for several visits to her class's field site at Fort Greene Park and taken photos of the buds to share remotely with students. She asks them to reply with the status of the buds based on the Harvard Forest protocol.
Dr. Margarita is continuing to monitor, photograph and share remotely the bud/leaf out status of each of the study trees with students throughout the spring, until all study leaves have emerged. Stay tuned for her full documentation of bud burst on our website-coming soon.
Teacher, Jane Lucia from the Williston Northampton School, took a mixed approach.
Remote Photos: I was able to get over to school today and took some
pictures. Though it is after the (HF Schoolyard Zoom Spring Workshop session 2 led by Dr. O'Keefe) workshop, These were taken April 17,
2020 on the Williston Northampton School Campus.
The white paper background was so helpful for focusing and
seeing the buds. I also recorded the 6 buds for each tree on data sheets. I
will make an effort to get out a few more times to capture leaf out as best as
possible. I am also sharing this link with my students for observation, though
I only took photos of one of the branches on each tree.
See more detailed teacher resources that Jane has shared for other teachers below!
Jane also incorporated a backyard monitoring assignment based on the recommendation of Dr. O'Keefe as seen in the data sheet below.
Special Backyard Protocol created by Harvard Forest Project Ecologist John O'Keefe for students monitoring trees in their neighborhoods:
See below for link to Remote Buds Data Sheet
Dr. John O'Keefe was the lead presenter at our 2nd Spring Workshop for Teachers Zoom Session.
Here is what teachers shared about how they are adapting to doing Phenology outreach remotely:
Teacher Comments:
I especially appreciate the updated/modified data sheets for our kids to explore the Phenology of the trees in their own yard or neighborhood!
I realized today for the first time that the entire leaf must be showing to be considered leaf fully emerged. I loved the mystery game and the ideas the teachers had Lucia - sketches and observations . I love the forcing the branch and the at home protocol with trees at students home. I might do versions of each over the next few weeks in addition to sending the kids the photos of their tree branches.
The workshop was very motivating and provided me with a wealth of ideas for my students.
I am more ready to take photos of branches using the white paper technique- with the tree names and dates on the papers! With this method, it seems more possible that I could share the photos with the students for observation and determination of the start of the growing season for their tree.
I always learn from what the teachers are doing and sharing. They are so creative. I may not be able to use the information right away but it will be super helpful for the future
It will take some time to figure out how to approach this with younger students. We certainly hope to give them a sense of what they would be doing if we were in school.
I was not sure about how to go about this remotely but I think if I stay simple, it will be best as my students are young
It clarified some ideas I had about students collecting data remotely.
Clarification of the size and "puffiness" of buds was helpful; Thanks also for the online resources & guides
Related Resources
Session 2 (April 16): Spring Phenology Science by Buds, Leaves and Global Warming Project Ecologist, John O’Keefe
- Full recording of the session
- O'Keefe Slides
- Backyard Data Collection Worksheet: Word doc or PDF
- Resources for remote teaching about phenology, created by teacher Jane Lucia
The PhenoCam Network tracks seasonal change (Phenology) in biomes across North America using hundreds of web-cameras, with a gallery that can be explored and analyzed online.
- PhenoCam Educational Resources
- Lesson Plans by teacher Kate Bennett (5th grade) combining Phenocam images with the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming study
Coming This Week:
Spring Workshop Session 4 is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th 3-4 p.m.
Three Schoolyard Teachers will share how they are teaching Ecology remotely, including learning activities related to Phenology, Bud Burst, Tree and Animal ID, Backyard Biodiversity....
To join us for this free webinar, Email Pamela at psnow@fas.harvard.edu
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