The PhenoChampions Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of Local Phenology Programs (LPPs)! Any LPP that has been active for at least two years is eligible to apply.
We know there is a great deal of work that goes into planning and executing a long-term phenology monitoring program and we are so proud of the many LPLs (Local Phenology Leaders) who have successfully been working to build them.
AWARD
The winning Program will be chosen by the staff of the USA-NPN. Selection criteria include stated outcomes in the LPP Annual Survey, impact of the program as stated in the observer or partner testimonial, consistency in observation activity, retention of observers, level of engagement in the Local Phenology Program Community, and overcoming challenges.
Winners will receive a plaque recognizing their achievement and Nature's Notebook custom t-shirts (with your Local Phenology Program's name) or Nature's Notebook hats for up to 10 observers and/or staff, a value of $350.
How to apply
The PhenoChampion Award is part of the Annual Local Phenology Program Survey. Each December, Local Phenology Leaders are invited to complete the Annual LPP Survey to provide feedback to the USA-NPN Staff. LPLs can indicate their interest in their LPP being considered for PhenoChampion.
2024 PhenoChampions: Mount Auburn Cemetery Citizen Scientists
The Citizen Science Naturalist Program at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts started in 2016 with a mission to create a well-trained team of volunteers to assist field researchers in-order to track a large number of taxa from plants to birds to bats to butterflies (and the monitoring efforts continue to grow). The MAC Phenology Team, a subset of the Citizen Scientists at Mount Auburn who document tree phenology, was taken over by Jacqui Kluft in 2020. She trained phenology members to start entering their data using the USA-NPN's Nature's Notebook program so that their data would be collected with standardized protocols used by observers across the country.
The Team now monitors 15 tree and 1 shrub species. Despite some challenges, including the loss of two of their dear observers who are now buried among the trees at the Cemetery, the Program has grown under Jacqui's leadership, with 40 members trained this year and 160 since 2016. Many of the long-time volunteers feel deep connections to the trees they track and occasionally want to try out new things, like flying a drone to observe acorns in the very old oaks they monitor. According to observer Sandra Gray (who also drew the sweetbay magnolia on the MAC Citizen Scientist Phenology logo) "my life is richer for this program."
Previous PhenoChampions
2023 PhenoChampions: Linda Loring Nature Foundation
The Linda Loring Nature Foundation is a non-profit land trust on Nantucket Island dedicated to research, stewardship, and education around native biodiversity. They have collected phenology data since 2014 on a diversity of species, including tracking changes in common, native shrubs that are signature species of the landscape. Linda Loring Nature Foundation is the USA-NPN 2023 Pheno Champion due to their consistent long-term phenology data collection, their dedication to teaching students about phenology, and their engagement of the public in learning about climate change impacts.
2022 PhenoChampions: Washington Square Eco Projects
Since 2019, students in NYU’s Ecological Field Methods class have participated in the Washington Square Park Phenology Project, led by Dr. Georgia Silvera-Seamans. Following a lecture about tree identification and a walking tour of the park, students are assigned a tree to monitor weekly throughout the Fall semester using the Nature’s Notebook App. The students sketch the leaves and bark and research their species. Visiting their trees every week, the students become attached to their tree as they watch it change.
2021 PhenoChampions: Tree Spotters
Tree Spotters is an exemplary program that shows a dedicated group of volunteers can overcome challenges, maintain a critical long-term dataset, and create excitement in learning about phenology.
2020 PhenoChampions: Indiana Phenology
This non-profit was created to facilitate the long-term documentation of phenology changes in plants in all 92 counties in Indiana.
2019 PhenoChampions: Earthwise Aware
The nature conservation non-profit in Massachusetts has been an outstanding LPP, and has submitted two annual impact statements, made their own Phenology Report using Nature's Notebook data.
2018 PhenoChampions: Oregon Season Trackers
Oregon Season Trackers submitted a fantastic application package that showcased their short, medium, and long-term outcomes, a clear set of future directions, letter of support from an OSU faculty member, and a great slideshow of their activities.
2017 PhenoChampions: McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Phenology Program
McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Phenology Program jumped onboard Nature's Notebook in 2017 to monitor the health of important species in the Sonoran Desert. Their dozens of dedicated volunteers - called stewards - monitor eight plant species and one bird species across three sites in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, AZ. Their phenology project is an excellent pathway for citizen scientists to get involved in our scientific research