Citizen Science

Phenology

The Vassar Ecological Preserve is one of the ten Environmental Monitoring and Management Alliance (EMMA) sites with established phenology trails. The introduction of phenology trails to EMMA sites springboarded the formation of the New York Phenology Project (NYPP), a joint monitoring, citizen science, and public education project launched by the Community Greenways Collaborative. These trails follow seasonality in plant species and the effects of climate change on the timing of this seasonality. Changes in events like flowering can lead to mismatches between dependent animal species and have significant impacts on population growth and declines. We are currently piloting additional focal projects to inform specific management priorities such as invasive species and pollinator habitat.