Resources - North America

Phenology Resources

Find resources to prepare you for exploring phenology with your students.

Background Information

GLOBE training materials and learning activities

• Biosphere eTraining Modules (scroll down to find "Green Up-Green Down - Tree and Shrub Green-Up" and "Green Up-Green Down - Tree and Shrub Green-Down" PowerPoint slides)
• Teacher Guides for most learning activities; for example, see A First Look at Phenology (PDF)
• GLOBE Educator One-Week Pacing Guide: Phenology (PDF): geared toward grades 4 to 8 (source: NASA Langley GLOBE Partnership)
• GLOBE Grandma: Autumn, Winter, and Spring Series geared toward early primary grade levels (source: Arctic and Earth SIGNS)

Get help with identifying trees

• Winter Tree Identification Key (PDF) from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
• Leaf Snap
• iNaturalist
• Seek

Plant growth

• Ever Wonder How Trees Grow? from the USDA Forest Service (3 minute video with animation): "In this video, you’ll learn how trees change on a daily basis while growing larger over time. You’ll also get to see how fast a real Douglas-fir tree grew over 2 weeks in the summer."
• Tree Growth Strategies: Douglas fir Budburst from the USDA Forest Service (3 minute timelapse video): "Within a tree species, there can be substantial variation in many characteristics such as the timing of spring budburst and the rate of shoot growth. This clip shows two seed sources of Douglas-fir growing on a site near Centralia, Washington."

The science of fall colors

• Science of Fall Colors from the USDA Forest Service
• "Why do leaves change color in the fall?" video from the series of BeLeaf It or Not! videos by Michigan State University Extension

Just for fun

• A Year in the Life of a Tree playlist from The Woodland Trust follows many different tree species through the year with one minute time-lapse videos
• Leaf Budding Timelapses playlist from The Woodland Trust includes 10 videos of different tree species. "Watch as leaves unfurl and transform over time in these fascinating timelapses."
• Phenology Wheel (PDF) from the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management. Draw your observations of one tree as you observe it throughout different seasons.

Resources from Educators

Educators have been sharing their ideas for teaching phenology to their students on the North America Phenology Campaign Padlet. Visit the Padlet to find more and to contribute your resources.

• Green-down wall display showing color changes graph at Moharimet School in New Hampshire
• The complete wall display showing Green-down investigation results at Moharimet School in New Hampshire
• Green-Down and Phenology slide show by Cheryl Williams, Palmer High School, Alaska 

Phenology Campaign Resources

• GLOBE North America Spring Phenology Campaign: Measuring Green-Up Slides (PDF)
• GLOBE North America Fall Phenology Campaign:  Measuring Green-Down
• GLOBE European Phenology Campaign: GLOBE Europe/Eurasia conducts phenology measurement campaigns each spring and fall. Their website has links to activities, webinars, and resources around green-up and green-down.