Wednesday, August 6, 2008: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
203 C, Midwest Airlines Center
SS 20 - Phenology as a Tool to Enhance Ecological Understanding through Integration of Research and Education
The goal of this special session is to introduce participants to programs and products that can be employed to enhance ecological understanding through the integration of research and education related to phenology - the study of the cause and the consequence of the timing of recurring biological phases of plant and animal individuals and populations. The USA National Phenology Network (NPN; www.usanpn.org) is an emerging collaboration among federal agencies, the academic community, and the general public to establish a nationwide network of phenological observers for scientific and practical applications essential to ecological forecasting. NPN citizen science, education, and outreach programs are designed to: (1) engage the public in long-term phenological data collection and analysis through formal and informal science education programs; (2) engender self-directed, voluntary learning using inquiry-based approaches; (3) provide training in the tools and applications of phenological studies to citizens and scientists; and (4) enhance opportunities for the public to interact with professional scientists. We will describe and demonstrate several of these programs, including: (1) Project BudBurst (www.budburst.org), an online educational and program targeting students and nature enthusiasts; (2) Students Observing Seasons, a suite of GK-12 education modules; (3) Phenology 101 and the Phenological Stewardship Program, programs to facilitate integration of phenology studies into undergraduate curricula; (4) Masters of Monitoring, targeted to public and private institutions with docent programs; and (5) a prototype laboratory exercise for Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE) focused on phenology of flowering in Colorado.
Organizer:	Jake Weltzin, USA National Phenology Network
Co-organizer:	Mark Losleben, USA National Phenology Network
Speakers:	Sandra Henderson, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Abraham Miller-Rushing, University of Maryland David W. Inouye, University of Maryland Brian Haggerty, University of California Santa Barbara

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See more of The 93rd ESA Annual Meeting (August 3 -- August 8, 2008)