Nature’s Notebook

Connecting People with Nature to Benefit Our Changing Planet

1 2 3 4
Nature's Notebook...

Nature's Notebook...

Nature's Notebook is a national, online program where amateur and professional naturalists regularly record observations of plants and animals to generate long-term data sets used for scientific discovery and decision-making.

Have Fun Outdoors

Have Fun Outdoors

Being an observer has connected me even more deeply with life in my neighborhood, and with the lives of individual species that I observe.  

– Cathie Bird, Nature's Notebook observer

Contribute to Scientific Discovery

Contribute to Scientific Discovery

Nature's Notebook gives the large Audubon CA volunteer community a chance to contribute to research above and beyond just listing bird species.

- Sandy DeSimone, Director, Starr Ranch Sanctuary—Audubon California

 

Status of Spring

Status of Spring

This year, spring leaf-out was 1-3 weeks late in the SE, northern Great Plains, MW, and NE and 1-3 weeks early across the central Great Plains and mid-Atlantic. The west is a patchwork of early and late arrival. 

See the maps

Celebrating 10 Years of Nature’s Notebook

Poster commemorating 10 years of USA-NPN showing four seasonal panelsThis month we are pleased to share our 10-year anniversary commemorative poster! This poster depicts four seasons of phenological activity centered around a cottonwood tree. An observer is kneeling in a meadow, recording her observations in Nature's Notebook. The poster was created by Cara Gibson and inspired by the Works Progress Administration-style art of the 1930s. There will be several opportunities to receive your copy of the poster advertised in our newsletters this year. Sign up here. 

Learn more »

How your data are being used

Observing nature is fun. But it also serves a greater purpose. Your observations of plants or animals inform scientific discovery and decision-making:

How Your Data are Being Used

  • Scientists use your data in groundbreaking research.
  • Land managers use them to make better-informed decisions about natural resources in their care.
  • Decision-makers use them to determine policy.

Read about examples »