Abstract
Project BudBurst: Citizen Science, Climate Change, and Biogeography
Track: Teaching with GIS in Schools
Author
Project BudBurst (www.budburst.org) is a national citizen science initiative designed to engage the public in biogeographical observations of phenological (plant life cycle) events that raise awareness of climate change, and create a cadre of informed citizen scientists. Citizen science programs such as Project BudBurst provide the opportunity for students and interested laypersons to actively participate in scientific research. Such programs are important not only from an educational perspective, but because they also enable scientists to broaden the geographic and temporal scale of their observations. This on-line educational and data-entry program has engaged over 5,000 participants of all ages and walks of life in recording the timing of the leafing and flowering of over 75 easily identifiable, broadly distributed plants. We will report on the results of the 2009 field campaign and recent analyses comparing our results with historical datasets.
Dennis Ward
UCAR Education and Outreach
1850 Table Mesa Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80301
United States
Phone: 3034972599
E-mail: dward@ucar.edu
Paul Alaback
Melipal Consulting
Missoula, Montana 59803
United States
Phone: 4064931842
E-mail: palaback@gmail.com
Sandra Henderson
UCAR Education & Outreach
1850 Table Mesa Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80301
United States
Phone: 3034978108
E-mail: sandrah@ucar.edu
Kirsten Meymaris
UCAR Education & Outreach
1850 Table Mesa Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80301
United States
Phone: 3034972583
E-mail: kirstenm@ucar.edu
Kayri Havens
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, Illinois 60022
United States
Phone: 8478358378
E-mail: khavens@chicagobotanic.org