Over the course of two months we have trained over 80 citizen scientists from around the world on how to use Nature’s Notebook, iNaturalist, and eBird– three free fun and easy citizen science tools that anyone can use.
We have citizen scientists helping us and our partners collect data on our Downeast Phenology Trail. They are using Nature’s Notebook to record changes in plant phenology for our target species. They are using iNaturalist to catalog the biodiversity on the trails with a focus on insects. They are using eBird to document what bird species are present and when. These citizen scientists are contributing to not only local research projects here at Schoodic and in Downeast Maine but are using the apps to contribute to scientific research projects around the globe.
Our Downeast Phenology Trail project aims to answer scientific research questions such as: is climate change causing a phenological mismatch between fall migrating songbirds and food abundance-fruit and insects.
Thank you to all who participated! Learn more about the Downeast Phenology Trail.