Play Your Part - Nature's Calendar and Phenological Data Collection

In something of an aside, I’m here today to issue you a challenge, rather than shout at you about how climate change is ravaging ecosystems worldwide.

A few of the more avid ecologists amongst you will be aware of Nature’s Calendar, the organisation which manages, collects and facilitates the UK’s extensive phenological data sets. They rely heavily on citizen science to support their services, and currently receive phenological information from a wide range of volunteers across the country, with varying degrees of experience (Woodland Trust).

But they are in trouble. According to a news article by MarkKinver (2012), experts in the field are becoming increasingly concerned regarding the decline in the number of volunteers who record critical plant, bird and insect behaviour. Long-running data sets are becoming threatened, largely due to diminishing resources and information being provided to Nature’s Calendar.

Dr Kate Lewthwaitz, the project manager for Nature’s Calendar, tells Mark that the amount of expert and semi-expert recorders has taken a dive in recent years; where once they had volunteers in their high hundreds, now they have only about 200 left. Many of the volunteers are unfortunately becoming too elderly and are finding themselves unable to complete surveys and contribute to Nature’s Calendar. 

If you’ve been reading this blog then I don’t need to tell you how important these data sets are. Phenological studies are key to understanding how human-induced climate change is affecting species across the world. Scientists rely heavily on organisations such as Nature’s Calendar and the services they provide to direct and facilitate their studies. Without the understanding and appreciation for the problem generated by these investigations, we simply won’t have the platform from which to act to help mitigate against climate change and protect our valuable flora and fauna against the humongous challenges climate change creates.

That is why Dr Kate Lewthwaitz, in her interview with MarkKinver (2012), issues a challenge. And this challenge is to you. Dr Lewthwaitz calls for the next generation to pick up where the retiring experts let off, and to join the movement and support science through voluntary collection of data.

And you should really consider it. You don’t need to be an expert (although some of you reading this blog may just be) and you would be providing an invaluable service not only to science, but to the plants and animals you observe. We all need to pitch in to fight climate change, and if you feel this is your niche, you can see here for details about how to get involved.