Citizen Scientists Take To The Trees

Four advanced biology students climbed to the treetops with science department chair Ava Goodale ’01 at Millbrook’s canopy walkway to gather data for the National Phenology Network database. Phenology is the study of timing and sequence in nature. Plant and animal lifecycles, changes of season, and climate all provide insight into the state of the ecosystem. Harnessed, helmeted, and tethered, the students climb a series of ladders permanently installed on massive trees and then transition onto a series of platforms and walkways in the higher branches.

 

In addition to those in advanced biology, students in field botany, environmental science, and field biology have also collected data for the last seven years. From the marsh to the platforms and walkways 70 feet above the forest floor, the widely varied terrain of Millbrook’s 800 acres allows students to collect and contribute observations to be aggregated with data from other citizen scientists.

Reporting their findings from the canopy walkway, students are contributing elevated observations to countless others made at ground level, thereby adding greater depth to the data pool. In the aerial laboratory, they get a close look at the state of the forest canopy, observe birds and other wildlife. They take note of any changes that may speak to the health of the forest and, when pooled with other data, the planet at large.

 

Environmental stewardship is a pillar of Millbrook culture. Data gathered by students and contributed to the National Phenology Database serves science and is crucial to the health of the planet.