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: mazer@lifesci.ucsb.edu
and
Brian Haggerty, MS
PhD student, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology
Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology
UCSB
Email: haggerty@lifesci.ucsb.edu
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 gloria.antoniou@els.ucsb.edu Thank you.
You may also contact us by mail: UCSB Extension, Mail Code 1110, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 931061110; at the UCSB Extension Administrative Offices: 2160 Kerr Hall, UCSB; by phone: (805) 8937604; 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 USANational Phenology Network that 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:
http://www.usanpn.org/phenologyhandbook
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
(http://www.usanpn.org/cpp/eduation) 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:
http://www.aw.id.ucsb.edu/maps/
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: http://www.usanpn.org/cpp
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): http://www.usanpn.org
Hands-on exploration, using individual computers: Search for species monitored by the
USA-NPN
Register in Nature’s Notebook
Register for the CPP listserv
To subscribe to the CPP listserv, send email to listserv@listserv.arizona.edu with
the following as the only line in the body of the message:
subscribe CPP YourFirstName YourLastName
Example:
subscribe CPP John Smith
Register one or two sites (e.g., Coal Oil Point, Stunt Ranch Reserve, your schoolyard)
Register two species per site
Download data sheets
Upload your data!
Download your data!
Optional on-line activities:

International Networks, including time to explore on your own:
PlantWatch (http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/plantwatch/),
Nature’s Calendar (http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/),
others available at: http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~rachimow/epn/html/frameok.html

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