Phenology

Most of the students in my class live and play in or near the woods.  My goal for science class is for my students to gain an appreciation and knowledge of the nature that is right outside their front doors. In order to accomplish this goal, we spend a lot of time outside in the woods near the school.

A big part of our science is the study of phenology.  Phenology is the study of changes in nature over time due to climate.  We take temperature information each day.  We observe the birds and insects as they migrate south for the winter.  We watch the trees and other plants as they also prepare for the cold months ahead.

John Latimer is a rural mail carrier who has a radio show on KAXE (91.7 fm) in Grand Rapids.  He has been watching phenology for the past 30 years and reports on his findings each Tuesday morning.  We have been a part of his phenology report for at least the last 10 years.  Today John came to our class to talk about phenology and to share what we need to look for this fall.  He also took us out into the woods to see what we can find.  We found insect eggs on a branch, a very friendly spider and we learned some new information about the trees and plants right at the edge of the forest near the playground.

John will be coming back at least two more times this year - one in the winter and one in the spring.  If you want to hear our reports, tune in to KAXE on Tuesday mornings at 6:50 a.m. or listen on line at KAXE.org.