What is phenology? It’s the study of seasonal life events, such as when birds make their nests in the spring, when berries ripen in the summer, and when leaves change color in the autumn. What does it mean for Maine and for those who live here? Plenty! As part of a new citizen science program, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is teaming up with the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant to participate in Signs of the Seasons, through which volunteers of all ages observe and record plant and animal phenology.

The first volunteer training session will be at the Gardens, off Barters Island Road in Boothbay, on Saturday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is no charge to participate in this important effort. For anyone who can’t attend the first session, there will be another on Friday, June 14. Registration for the training sessions is through the Gardens’ website, www.mainegardens.org or by calling the Gardens’ main number, 207-633-4333, ext. 101. Participants should bring a bag lunch and be prepared to walk outdoors.

Scientists study phenology to understand how plants and animals are affected over time by changes in climate and weather at a certain place. Observations made by volunteers in their backyards, at the Gardens, or at local natural areas help scientists and managers answer questions that affect Maine’s forests, crops, and our day-to-day lives.

Phenology changes are easy for volunteers of any age to observe and record. Observations may include the timing of budburst, emerging leaves, and flowering of plants; first and last sightings (in spring and fall) of migrating birds, changing plumage, and observations of nesting activity in birds; and changing leaf color and withering foliage of plants in autumn. In the marine environment, volunteers may choose to observe loons and look for the presence of reproductive organs on our indicator species of seaweed.

Each participant will choose as many indicator species as they wish and then identify and mark the site(s) where they will observe these species throughout most of the year. The group will register as Signs of the Seasons participants on the USA National Phenology Network website’s Nature’s Notebook (www.usanpn.org), where they can record their observations as often as they make them.

Esperanza Stancioff, an educator with the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension, will present the training sessions. Her current work focuses on climate change education and adaptation planning. Since joining the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in 1988, she has designed and implemented educational programs in coastal ecosystem health, specifically in marine environmental monitoring and watershed assessment and management.

For more information about this research program, visit http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons; or contact Stancioff at esp@maine.edu or 207-832-0343.