While working on my Master’s in Environmental Education at North Cascades Institute, I am participating in various phenology projects to document the seasonal changes in the local ecosystem.
Nature’s Notebook
In December, 2016 I worked a shift as a phenology volunteer making observations about plants on the Deer Creek Trail next to the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center campus. Plant species for which I collected data included a vine maple, Indian plum, devil’s club, sword fern, salal, and dull Oregon grape. All of the information I collected was entered into Nature’s Notebook, a project of the National Phenology Network.
Oceanspray observations
Another phenology project at NCI has been making and tracking regular observations of an individual plant — an oceanspray growing just below the Sourdough Creek waterfall. Starting in October, 2016, I have written down observations about this plant on a be-weekly (on average) basis, also completing a detailed drawing of it once each month. See below for galleries of my written notes and drawings created as part of this project.
Oceanspray drawings
Nick Engelfried 