News - Leitzel Center at the University of New Hampshire
Measure Fall Color Change with GLOBE: The North American Phenology Campaign is Underway
The 2026 GLOBE North American Phenology Campaign kicked off on Wednesday, 19 August, with an introductory webinar about observing and tracking fall leaf color change across North America. Participants learned about two ways to take part in the campaign and were introduced to a new collaboration with NASA’s PACE satellite mission. Fred Huemmrich, PACE terrestrial scientist from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, shared how the PACE satellite can be used to monitor fall color change across the landscape. The webinar recording and slides are available on the Phenology Campaign’s webinars page.
Huemmrich and other PACE scientists are interested in comparing GLOBE participants’ ground-based photos of fall leaf color changes to PACE data. One way GLOBE participants can provide data for the North American Phenology Campaign is by using the Land Cover tool in the GLOBE Observer app to take photos of forested landscapes, with a “Feature Photo” of the part of the landscape with the most color.
Another opportunity to participate in the campaign is by monitoring an individual tree with GLOBE’s Green-Down protocol. Choose one easily accessible branch and mark the four leaves at the end of the branch to observe throughout the season, preferably at least twice per week, using the GLOBE Plant Color Guide.
Leaf color can change rapidly, so whether participants are taking landscape photos, monitoring an individual tree, or both, regular repeat observations are appreciated.
The GLOBE U.S. Coordination Office, which leads the North American Phenology Campaign, encourages GLOBE participants and organizations to promote this campaign within their communities. A flyer and social media messaging and images can be downloaded from the Fall 2026 Phenology Campaign Google folder.
Many links and resources, including implementation guides for different audiences and tutorial videos, can be found on the North American Phenology Campaign webpages.
News origin: GLOBE Implementation Office