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Dear USA-NPN,
According to our Spring Maps, spring has sprung in all but the highest elevation parts of the country. I hope you are able to spend a few minutes stepping outside to visit your sites and take comfort in watching the (relatively) dependable arrival of spring activity of plants and animals.
We continue to make progress on development of the new Nature's Notebook app. We are so grateful to our Mobile App Working Group as well as the Participant Pool (which is still open to new participants) for your input and insights! The Participant Pool can expect another survey in June for another chance to give us your thoughts.
We are also busy creating new resources for Local Phenology Programs, including a much needed revision of our Local Phenology Program Planning Guide and moving our Local Phenology Leader Certification Course to a new platform, Moodle. We'll have much more to share with you this summer!
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What's new at Nature's Notebook and USA-NPN
| | Theresa takes the TED stage! | |
In this TEDxUofA Talk, USA-NPN Director Theresa Crimmins makes the case for why everyone should track phenology - to support science, and more importantly, because it is good for you! This TEDxUofA Talk was part of the Desert Genius series recorded in October of last year.
Watch the TED Talk »
| | | New forecast for Japanese beetle | |
Our new Pheno Forecasts for Japanese beetle adult emergence and egg hatch are now available! Japanese beetle is considered to be among the most damaging turfgrass pests in eastern and Midwestern states. It has also brought large-scale destruction to garden plants and agricultural crops.
The forecasts use new models developed by our partners at US Pest at Oregon State University. We have also created a learning module to assist you with how to identify Japanese beetle, how to report its life cycle events, and why you should care.
View the Japanese beetle Pheno Forecast »
Sign up for notifications for when to expect Japanese beetle in your zip code »
Take the learning module »
| | Photo: David Cappaert, Bugwood.org | | The USA-NPN Annual Report is here | |
Our 2024 Annual Report highlights the accomplishments of our observers and partners, including a study of advancing spring along the Appalachian Trail, an analysis of how often scientific research using Nature's Notebook data are used in policy and decision-making documents, a shout out to our 2023 Pheno Champions, Linda Loring Nature Foundation, and a summary of our ongoing work to revamp the Nature's Notebook mobile app to lower barriers and provide a fun and welcoming experience for all.
Read the report »
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Recent happenings in the field of phenology | | Trees damaged by late season frosts can see negative impacts for years | |
Many trees in the Northern Hemisphere are leafing out earlier as the climate warms. But with leaves emerging earlier in the season, there is an increased risk that of damage from a late spring frost. Researchers used experimental and observational data – including thousands of records from Nature’s Notebook – to evaluate the effects of late spring frosts on hundreds of tree species. The results indicated that late spring frosts have both short-term and long-term effects on tree growth and phenology. In the short-term, late spring frosts damage young leaves and limit tree growth that year. But more notably, late spring frost events also limit the amount of resources a tree can store that year, which results in delayed leaf emergence and reduced productivity the next calendar year. These results illustrate that the effects of extreme climate events on plant phenology and productivity may extend months, or years, into the future. The results may also help scientists generate more accurate predictions of how forests will respond to future climate change.
Read the Publication Summary »
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Especially for Local Phenology Leaders | | The 2024 Pheno Champion is MAC Citizen Scientists! | |
Congratulations to the USA-NPN's 2024 PhenoChampion: Mount Auburn Cemetery Citizen Scientists! The Citizen Science Naturalist Program at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts started in 2016 with a mission to create a well-trained team of volunteers to assist field researchers by tracking a large number of taxa from plants to birds to bats to butterflies.
The Phenology Team, managed by Jacqui Kluft, observes 16 different plant species and trained 40 new observers last year. According to one observer, "my life is richer for this program." Congratulations, MAC Citizen Scientists!
Learn more about MAC Citizen Scientists »
| | | Don't miss the June Murmuration | |
In our next Monthly Murmuration, Wednesday, June 18th at 11am PT / 2pm ET, USA-NPN Director Theresa Crimmins will describe a new set of models that estimate the timing of leaf-out and flowering throughout the spring season. These models were created using Nature's Notebook data. Come find out what scientists are learning from your data!
Register for the June Murmuration »
| | | Have your LPP's data analyzed this fall | |
This August, we are continuing an effort started last year with University of Arizona students to summarize and analyze data from selected Local Phenology Programs. This work will begin in mid-August 2025 and results will be presented to Programs by the end of April 2026. Selected Programs will participate in 7-10 hours of virtual meetings and email communications with students to understand your Program's goals for data collection and guide the students' work.
Apply to have your Program's data analyzed »
| | | Sign up for LPL Virtual Conference updates | |
One of the top requests from our Local Phenology Leaders is more chances to interact with other Leaders about their Programs. To meet this need, we'll be hosting a multi-day virtual conference for Local Phenology Leaders the week of January 20-23, 2026! Get on our Conference email list to be the first to receive news and updates.
Sign up on the Conference interest list »
| | | Learn about your fellow LPPs | |
Thank you to all who completed the LPP Annual Survey this past winter. We had 90 responses this year, and put together a summary of what we learned from you.
We also focused on Local Phenology Programs, particularly their motivations, most used resources, and resource needs, in our April Monthly Murmuration call. Our student Chi Nguyen presented an analysis she has been working on over the past several months. You can watch the recording to catch up on what you missed! The networking session during that call was very popular and we plan to offer more sessions like that in coming months!
View the 2024 Annual LPP Survey Summary »
Watch the Monthly Murmuration recording »
| | | Catch up on Phenology Week | |
Did you take part in Phenology Week? If you missed any of our daily webinars you can catch up on the webinar recordings. We talked with some of the researchers behind three of our Nature's Notebook campaigns, heard USA-NPN Director Theresa Crimmins share stories from her new book, Phenology, and talked with researchers who have been using Nature's Notebook data in scientific publications, and more!
Watch the webinar recordings »
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USA-NPN Director Theresa Crimmins was recently on two podcasts talking about phenology and why we should care about it - In Defense of Plants with Matt Candeias and A Way to Garden with New York Times garden columnist Margaret Roach. If you missed them, I highly recommend giving them a listen!
Listen to In Defense of Plants »
Listen to A Way to Garden »
| | | Monthly calls for LPLs and observers | |
Join the Nature's Notebook Nest - bring your questions and observations and chat with USA-NPN staff, fellow observers, and Local Phenology Leaders! These are standing monthly meetings on the first Monday of the month at 12pm PT / 3pm ET. Mark your calendars, our next Nest is June 2nd! If you sign up for reminders we'll send you an email a few days before and then the morning of the call.
Sign up for reminders about the Nest »
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