Introduction to Nature's Notebook Citizen Science Project
Nature's Notebook is a citizen science project conducted by the USA National Phenology Network (USANPN). This project exists so that researchers and scientists are better able to predict threats to humans and the environment (Nature's Notebook, 2018). Threats may include wildfires, droughts, or flooding. Being knowledgable of these processes helps people decide the timing of certain events such as irrigating land and holding controlled burns (Nature's Notebook, 2018). Additionally, the USANPN uses the information from its citizen science observations in order to inform policy change (Nature's Notebook, 2018) As part of my role as a citizen scientist, I will be making observations of different plant and animal species in my area and reporting them back to Nature's Notebook. Currently, USANPN is especially interested in gathering observations of dogwoods, maples, poplars, invasive shrubs, and nectar plants. Fortunately, l...