Teacher Spotlight: Maryann Postans Keeper of the Northern-Most Data Set

Hanover High School Teacher, Maryann Postans who has contributed 
9 years of Buds, Leaves and Global Warming data.  

Grade Level:  10

Course Name: Biology

How did you decide to engage your students in a Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology project?  

I was looking for a way to engage my students in authentic science and a few weeks after I started searching for a project an email came across my screen about the Harvard Forest Project.  It was June 2012.  I emailed Pamela Snow and that summer I went to Cambridge to do a workshop on “Buds, Leaves, & Global Warming”.

How did you choose the project (s) that you chose to lead at your school?

This citizen science project was my stepping stone into developing a climate change curriculum. The following year I took a course on climate change online at the American Museum of Natural History.  The common threads were beginning to appear and I used UBD (Understanding By Design) principles to design the course using the Harvard Forest Project as the main focal point.

Did you have any experience with Ecology before joining the Schoolyard Eco. Program? If so, please explain what previous exposure you had in working with/understanding Ecology?

I have a degree from Wesleyan University in Environmental Science so ecology was not new to me.  My first year out of college I was a field biologist for the Lloyd Center for Environmental Science studying endangered species, specifically piping plovers and Plymouth Gentian.  I loved working in the field, but I especially liked talking to school groups when they came to visit the marsh in South Dartmouth, MA

Did you have experience participating in Citizen Science before?  If so, please explain what experiences you have had in citizen science and whether your students participated in this also, or was it in a different context?   

When I worked at Santa Fe Prep School in Santa Fe, NM, I did citizen science with students with stream ecology.  We would go up to the streams above Santa Fe in the National Forest and collect macroinvertebrates as well as do water testing using Hach kits.  I think the program was called Project del Rio, but I can’t remember where we sent the data.

How long have you led a Harvard Forest Schoolyard Project at your school?

  I have been participating in the Harvard Forest Schoolyard project since the Fall of 2012.

What keeps you engaged in Schoolyard Ecology over time? 

It’s really helpful to go to the workshops every year.  The team of scientists have inspired me to learn more every year.  Emery Boose is great about making the calculations easier and easier and using the database with students is a great way.  John O'Keefe has been great about answering questions as they come up and Pamela is the glue that holds it all together.

Note that the date of  leaf emergence in the spring in Hanover NH is trending upward here which shows that spring is a few days later. This trend is counter intuitive and doesn't seem to support the Ecologist's hypothesis that the growing season is extending due to climate change.  We would expect that spring would be coming earlier due to a warming trend, but these results are consistent with Ecologist John O'Keefe's data which show that April temps have been actually getting cooler during this time period even as year-long temps are increasing.

Note that the timing of leaf fall in autumn in Hanover NH are trending upward which are consistent with the hypothesis that the growing season is extending in relation to climate change. This is based on September and October temperatures and weather conditions.  Again this is consistent with Ecologist John O'Keefe's findings at Harvard Forest.

Note that the entire growing season (leaves on trees) has increased slightly over the study period in Hanover NH so far.  This is consistent with John O'Keefe's findings at Harvard Forest and mildly supports the hypothesis that the growing season is is extending. However, due to cooling of April temps, this increase is less consistent than expected and will require longer study to see if this will be an impactful change over time.

What excites your students about Schoolyard Ecology?

This project comes up every year as one of the students' favorite things to do because they get to watch “their” tree change throughout the season and they like going outside in groups to collect the data.

What are  some challenges that you have faced in leading Schoolyard Ecology at your site, and how you are overcoming those challenges or not? 

Lots of challenges! All the trees from the first few years were either cut down, killed by snow dumps, or increasingly isolated. There is only one tree that has been in the study for all 8 years.   When you go out with a group of teenagers you need to have the trees all in the same area so we kept shifting trees to accommodate biology classes and the project. There was also the year that the chosen trees had poison ivy patches underneath and we had to establish new areas.  Choosing trees with long term goals in mind is the best course of action so that you can see how the growing season has changed over time.  One year we split the trees up by classes and this became an issue because we would collect data for the morning class and then weather would keep us from collecting data in the afternoon and suddenly when you are figuring out % budburst you have 1 branch for tree X one day and the 2nd branch for tree X the second day and this affects the data in the long run.  When you go out to collect data, complete all the branches of the tree to avoid this issue.

Describe some challenges that your students face in doing field ecology and/or classroom work associated with Schoolyard project(s) and how you are supporting them in overcoming or working with those challenges.

Inclement weather is sometimes seen as a problem by students, but I bring umbrellas and put plastic over the clipboards and tell them that,  although they think I am a witch, I will not shrivel with water and neither will they.  On those weather days we took different routes to the trees so we didn’t have to walk down hill to avoid the possibility of slipping.

Some examples of ways that you have you have integrated project themes in           teaching:

Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14VEgm8UWC7uCHM3GDCP_mUFelfsPkxg5neJXxpqCJj0/edit?usp=sharing

Ecology KUDos: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vP7ogCDVWfOMUFwY9_H2F1UxYDoeeQ24IjPXlRRE-ek/edit?usp=sharing

Observation Lab:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S0FuwuE0cswMxClrJj0InJ-3LcpPNF1nFVhnyHbm0hk/edit?usp=sharing

Exploration and Graphing of Data:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qog5Cyf-l19DZG_bugCVcfb3aPspFMszo4tFniINqkw/edit?usp=sharing

 

Do you see/hear any evidence that your students are having positive learning outcomes from participating in Schoolyard Ecology projects?    

Students are paying attention to trees and how they are different and how they change over time which is a huge plus especially in this day and age where they don’t go outside as much.  They remember species and descriptions of different types of trees so they can use keys to identify trees.  Students also tie in the Buds, Leaves and Global Warming Project when they write their climate essays and anything that  builds understanding of climate change is a plus.

How are you managing to adapt your project leadership techniques during COVID?   Tell us what you have tried doing and how it has been working, and whether you plan to continue what you are currently doing or adapting further? 

When school was shut down last spring I had a lab technician who was willing to continue taking data with me weekly which was really helpful. We have been in school since the beginning of this year so going outside with masks and social distancing was not a problem.

   Do you have suggestions for other teachers leading Schoolyard Eco. Projects during COVID? 

If you can’t get help from students, then ask your friends to help, but ask students ( if your administration allows it) as this gets them out of the house.  It was great to go outside with my friends on beautiful days and chat while taking data when students couldn’t help.  Make it a social time! 

 Is there anything else you would like to share with other teachers; HF staff; LTER Educators at other sites, and/or Funders who make up most of our Blog Audience?

Yes!  Thank you to all the funders who see value in helping to create these opportunities for students.  These authentic projects are what the students will remember when they think back to their school experiences.   Having access to this database gives students the opportunity to explore their own questions and experience, first hand, what scientists do on a daily basis. 

 Congratulations on your retirement Maryann!  You will be missed for sure!

We are super grateful that you have prepared your colleague, Julia Gartner, who will be continue to track the timing of budburst and leaf drop at  our Northern Most field site !

Keep in touch and enjoy your next adventures....