USA NPN National Phenology Network

Taking the Pulse of Our Planet

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Choose a Site

A site is the area within which you will look for your chosen animal species, and which encompasses any plants you choose to observe. When you select a site, such as your yard or a nearby natural area, consider these guidelines:

Convenience: You will be visiting your site(s) regularly, so it should be convenient and easily accessible. Consider your yard or another area that your visit frequently.

Representative location: As much as is practical, the selected site(s) should be representative of the environmental conditions for your area. More...

Uniform habitat: The conditions of your selected site(s) should be relatively uniform across the site. If you would like to observe two adjacent but distinct habitats, please document them as separate sites. For example, a wetland adjacent to or surrounded by a drier grassland or forest should be documented as a separate site from the grassland or forest.

Appropriate size: A site should be no larger than 15 acres (6 hectares or 250 x 250 meters, the size of a pixel from a land surface satellite image), a square with sides the length of 2 ½ football fields. A site can certainly be smaller than this, and larger areas can be divided into multiple sites. More...

Proper permission: If you do not own the property where the site is located, you must get permission from the landowner before marking the site, the plants or reporting the site location information (such as latitude/longitude coordinates). More...

You may want to mark your site, so that you can find it again in the future. More...

Click below for more information in PowerPoint format.