Climate Change and the Seasonal Cycles of Wild Plants

COURSE SCHEDULE / UCSB EXTENSION

Climate change and the seasonal cycles of wild plants:

a professional development workshop for formal and informal science education teachers at the high school and adult education levels

INSTRUCTORS

Dr. Susan J. Mazer

Professor of Ecology and Evolution

Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology

University of California, Santa Barbara

93106

Email:

and

Brian Haggerty, MS

PhD student, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology

Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology

UCSB

Email:

COURSE #: X300.37

LOCATION OF CLASS

June 28-29 (11:00 am – 6:00 pm): UCSB (4307 Life Sciences Building)

October 20 (9:00 am – 4:00 pm): Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Headquarters (directions to be sent prior to workshop)

UCSB Extension Program Director: Gloria M. Antoniou at Thank you. You may also contact us by mail: UCSB Extension, Mail Code 1110, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-1110; at the UCSB Extension Administrative Offices: 2160 Kerr Hall, UCSB; by phone: (805) 893-7604; or by fax: (805) 893-7604.

COURSE OVERVIEW– This course introduces participants to the science of phenology (the study of seasonal cycles of plants and animals) and its relationship to climate change. Through a combination of lecture, hands-on activities, reading, and discussion of the primary research, and student-led discussions and presentations, students learn the methods of the science of phenology and its application to the study of the effects of climate change on plants and animals. Workshop participants will also review and critique new curricula and lesson plans that have been developed to introduce high school students, high school students, and/or students in informal science education settings to the study of phenology and its application to the study of climate change. The course reviews a variety of recent and ongoing research that demonstrates how plants and animals are responding to climate change. Participants will learn and practice the verbal and hands-on skills necessary to teach these concepts to their students in formal and informal science settings. Students learn how to participate in two statewide and national education and research efforts with which they may pursue future learning and teaching opportunities: the California Phenology Network, and the USA-National Phenology Network. Participants will also learn how to register and to use Nature’s Notebook, the on-line database created by the USA-National Phenology Network that allows the recording and uploading of phenological observations made in schoolyards, national parks, state recreation areas, and backyards.

Workshop participants will:

(1) be introduced to the science of phenology and its application to the study of the effects of climate change on plants and animals

(2) review and critique recent curricula that have been developed to instruct high school students in formal and informal science education settings on these topics, including ways to fulfill California State Science Standards.

(3) learn about a variety of recent and ongoing research that demonstrate how plants and animals are responding to climate change;

(4) practice the verbal and hands-on skills necessary to teach these concepts to their students in formal and informal science settings; and

(5) be introduced to two statewide and national education and research organizations with which they will be able to pursue future learning and teaching opportunities: the California Phenology Network, and the USA-National Phenology Network.

(6) Register on and learn how to use Nature’s Notebook, the on-line database created by the USA-National Phenology Networkthat allows the recording and uploading of phenological observations made in schoolyards, national parks, state recreation areas, and backyards.

REQUIRED TEXT: The Phenology Handbook, available for download at:

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Wear good walking shoes today, and bring a sack lunch with soft drinks!

(you might also wish to bring a sun hat and sun screen, as we’ll be outside for two hours)

Park in parking lot #18 (Mesa parking lot, top level) or in parking lot #23 (west of Faculty Club). It will take you 10-15 minutes to walk to the Life Sciences Building, so please leave time to arrive to our meeting room by 11:00 am.

We’ll convene in room 4307, Life Sciences Building, UCSB.

11:00 am – 11:20: Round-robin introduction

11:20 – 12:30: Introduction to Phenology and its link to climate change

Definition of phenology

Examples of plant phenophases

Examples of phenological variation in everyday life

Economic importance of phenology

Methods of quantifying phenological activity

Review of trends in climate change

Possible effects of climate change on the onset and duration of the growing season

12:30 – 1:00 Quick Lunch Break – please bring bag lunches and soft drinks

1:00 – 1:50 Recent research demonstrating the effects of climate change on plant and animal phenology

Long-term observational studies, including examples from the following:

U.S.-wide lilac network

Rocky Mountain Biological Station

A. S. Leopold Wisconsin homestead

Colorado Marmot demography

Henry David Thoreau’s (and subsequent) observations in Concord, Massachusetts

British common gardens and Fitter data

Use of historical data sets: photographs, herbarium specimens, diaries

Phenological mismatches:

Dutch-pied flycatcher migration vs.the appearance of its food source (winter moth) vs, the oak on which the moth develops

Changes in peak park visitation date in national parks experiencing earlier spring warming

1:50 – 2:00: Break

2:00 – 3:15:Introduction to the California Phenology Project and the USA-National Phenology Network

Geographic reach of the CPP

Research and Educational goals of the CPP

Introduction to the California State national parks currently implementing phenological monitoring

Detailed example: Santa Monica National Recreation Area (SAMO)

Species selected for long-term monitoring at SAMO

Trails along which species are located for monitoring at SAMO: locations and maps

Tools for phenological monitoring: species profiles and data sheets

Crash Course in Botany – Everything you and your students need to know

Basic botany required for accurate phenological record-keeping

Ecological importance of vegetative growth vs. reproductive activity

Hot spots of growth in individual plants: vegetative buds and reproductive buds

Fate of buds: bud-break, leaf-out, flowering, fruiting, and seed dispersal

How to recognize fundamental plant phenophases: bud-break, expanding leaves, full-sized leaves, open flowers, developing fruits, and ripe fruits

3:10 – 5:00: Caravan and walk to Coal Oil Point; Hands-on instruction and practice recording phenological information on USA-NPN data sheets

Observing phenophases in elderberry, coyotebrush, and monkeyflower

Recording phenophases using NPN data sheets and protocols

5:00 – 6:00: Return to 4307 Life Sciences Building for group activity and planning

Select a lesson plan or outdoor activity from the CPP website ( to discuss tomorrow during afternoon break-out session and to test (with your modifications and customizations) with your students before the October 20 meeting.

Flight of the Pollinators

Ethnophenology

Phenology Relay Race

Phenology Garden planning and construction

Interpretive Guide (includes bullet points and case studies to introduce phenology and its link to climate change)

Friday, June 29, 2012

We’ll convene at 4307 Life Sciences Building, and then walk to the computer lab (10 minute walk) Bring bag lunches, which can be purchased on campus (in the University Center or at the “Arbor” or “Coral Tree Cafe”). Download a detailed UCSB map at:

11:00 – 2:00: Meet in Computer lab in Social Sciences and Media Studies Building (room 1301). Between 1:00 and 2:00, the group will eat lunch outdoors while Susan and Brian offer individual tutorials to help with registration on Nature’s Notebook.

Phenology Network Websites: Introduction to the CPP website and registration in Nature’s Notebook

The California Phenology Network:

Introduction to website

Species profiles, data sheets, and maps available for CPP species being monitored at national parks, including 8 species common in the south coast chaparral, oak woodland and coastal sage scrub.

Explore educational materials and choose one for testing with your students and for customization

The USA-National Phenology Network (USA-NPN):

Hands-on exploration, using individual computers: Search for species monitored by the USA-NPN

To subscribe to the CPP listserv, send email towith the following as the only line in thebodyof the message:

subscribeCPP YourFirstName YourLastName

Example:

subscribe CPP John Smith

Download data sheets

Upload your data!

Download your data!

Optional on-line activities:

International Networks, including time to explore on your own:

PlantWatch (

Nature’s Calendar (

others available at:

Use google to search for and to identfy plant species in your local area that are on the NPN target list and that have ethnobotanical uses

Identify native plant nurseries in your area that might cultivate NPN targeted species for schoolyard use.

2:15 – 2:30 – walk back to 4307 Life Sciences

2:30 –3:30 pm: 4307 Life Sciences Building

Break-out sessions(3-5 participants per group) to review and discuss educational materials available for customization

Practice delivering step-by-step instruction on phenological monitoring

Groups or individuals design their own phenology lesson plan or revise one that is currently available

3:30 – 3:45: Break

3:45 – 5:00 pm: Group sharing of lesson plan critique and new ideas for modification

Each group will practice delivering a lesson plan to the entire group

5:00 – 6:00 pm: Discussion of priorities for October workshop (what would benefit you the most?)

Selection of lesson plans to be tested between June and October workshops