With the advent of spring in the northern hemisphere, science educators and gardeners alike may be interested in Budburst: a citizen science project from the Chicago Botanic Garden. The project invites observers to collect data about phenology, which is the study of the life phases of living organisms. Today, phenologists are especially interested in identifying how global climate change is impacting the life cycles of plants and animals, and, by extension, reshaping global ecosystems. Visitors can learn more about the study of phenology in the About Budburst section of this website. From here, visitors interested in participating with Budburst are invited to select a plant and region and submit their own observations of where a particular plant is in its lifecycle. Participants have the option of either submitting a one-time report or observing a plant throughout its life cycle. For teachers interested in incorporating Budburst into the classroom, the For Educators section contains grade-appropriate resources for students in kindergarten through college.
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