Budburst
To all ye mirthful and budding scientists out there...
“This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when we next meet.” --Shakespeare (Romeo’s words to Juliet.)
Summer’s breath may have ripened the tree buds back in the 16th century, but in our world today, winter’s breath is plenty warm enough to do the job. It’s the last day of February, and I can walk through my neighborhood past a peach tree in full bloom, flowering pink and white azaleas, and faded yellow forsythias with spent and withered blossoms. Today, I can imagine Shakespeare putting different Elizabethan words into a modern Romeo’s mouth. Our Romeo of the 21st century, a 16-year-old who’s studied phenology in high school biology class, might say:
“Dost thou head grow alsant? Be ye fearful of the faire science? Ha! Learn it now. Tis dangerous not to act. Earth’s beaut’e shan’t be stol’n. Avoid a loathsome t’morrow.” --Zendt
This Friday, I am introducing Budburst, a community science effort and app created and managed by the Chicago Botanic Gardens. The Budburst app makes it easy for you to take pictures of plant changes and submit the observations to scientists. Doing this, you will be taking part in ongoing conservation efforts and contributing to datasets used in climate research publications. Scientists, who can’t be out in the field hearing and seeing everything that’s going on in the natural world, need our input.
I joined Budburst late in 2022 and took some time to look over the website and the app. So far, I’ve uploaded a handful of plant photos that represent various states of phenology, which we see when plants go through changes with the seasons. I only learned about term “phenology” recently, just about as recent as the time I force-fit the word into my Elizabethan language lead for this story. Here’s a definition:
Phenology is the study of the dates of recurrent natural events related to seasonal climatic change. Phenology combines ecology and meteorology. One reason it is important is because our food supply depends on phenological events.
Now then. Who likes to eat? If you do, that could be one reason why you decide to become a community scientist for Budburst. If that doesn’t get you, consider joining because of this compelling call-to-action statement from the website:
“With Budburst, you can experience the magic of nature while contributing to the fight to save it.”
Last weekend, I started taking close-up pictures and long, careful looks at some neighborhood buds. I had never really appreciated them before. Looking at a cluster of pale green and pink blueberry buds, I told my husband, “These babies are wound-up. Ready for something big to happen. Quite fair-faced and well-seeming, I’d say.”
Fred, who’d had enough Elizabethan-speak for one day, just nodded and headed back into the house.
Budburst offers special research projects and challenges. Now until May, the Cherry Blossom Blitz is going on. I am participating in the Blitz by uploading images from a mature Yoshina Cherry tree in my neighborhood. I’m also planning an outing to the Pinkest Party on Earth, which is Macon, Ga’s 41st annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Check out the popular Bloomcam streaming images from a downtown street where devoted blossom lovers can watch phenology in action. Macon has 350,000 Yoshina Cherry trees, the most in one place anywhere. Festival events are set for March 17-26 but I’m wondering if the pinks will peak earlier.
You CAN wear a lab coat if you want to.
This Friday, I’ll take a moment to jog your memory about the founding statement for this newsletter:
So far in 2023, I’ve written about a half dozen community science projects that I’ve sampled and often revisit. This week, for example, I pulled the app Debris Tracker off my smartphone shelf to collect data for a UGA-created trash research project. In the photo below, our bike group is getting ready for a trash pickup morning along the Chattahoochee River. If you missed my story about Debris Tracker, which I also used while down at Jekyll Island, here is the link to my Feb. 9 story.
If you want more, try this podcast about phenology:
In Defense of Plants: Episode 410, Phenology is Important. The whole episode is 28 minutes long, and if your time is short, just zone in from about the 20-minute mark to the end. During this portion, the experts explain the benefits of getting to know, really know, up close and personal, one single plant in your yard or neighborhood.