Do you find yourself observing the signs that Spring is here… maybe even more than ever before? Are you noticing trees blooming and shrubs leafing out in your yard, or maybe taking walks in your neighborhood and seeing daily changes in the landscape?
Even though Master Gardeners are not engaged in face-to-face volunteer activities right now, there are plenty of opportunities to earn credit for indirect volunteer hours!
A great way to contribute to a much needed data set on climate change can be done through Citizen Science projects. Master Gardeners may count hours as the actual time spent collecting and submitting data.
Since 2007, project “Budburst” has brought together researchers, educators, gardeners, and citizen scientists on a shared journey to uncover the stories of plants and animals affected by human impacts on the environment.
As a Budburst citizen scientist, you may invest as much or as little time as you like. You may observe and report on one or more plants over one season or over many years, or report on one plant observed for one day. All data contributions are valuable.
Bonus: If you have a student at home who may enjoy some extra time enjoying nature while making observations and contributing to a great science cause, this could be a neat activity to do together!
Tip: This native Oregon grape (also Oregon’s state flower) is one of the hundreds of plants to collect data on for project Budburst!
Register to help with this project here: https://budburst.org/
