The MJV is thrilled to welcome the USA National Phenology Network to the partnership! USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) is a national-scale monitoring and research initiative focused on collecting, organizing and delivering phenological data, information, and forecasts to support natural resource management and decision-making, to advance the scientific field of phenology, and to promote understanding of phenology by a wide range of audiences. Arizona-based USA-NPN was established in 2007 and has captured more than 30 million phenological observations through their Nature’s Notebook program.
A powerhouse of community science observations and data, the USA-NPN collects, stores, and shares phenology data and information for plants and animals. Their commitment to monarchs and pollinators shines through in their current data collection campaign, Nectar Connectors. Nectar Connectors invites observers to track the phenology of 53 species of nectar plants and submit their observations using USA-NPN’s Nature’s Notebook. The campaign is yielding a better picture of what species are providing nectar across the country throughout the monarch’s migration each year. Community scientists can also contribute phenological observations for bats, invasive species, lilacs and dogwoods, oaks, pollen, mayflies, and more.
Not only does USA-NPN bring their robust phenology observing platform to the MJV network, they also bring their expertise and capacity to engage community scientists meaningfully in data collection. Already actively engaged with MJV partners like the Desert Botanical Garden, we are excited to help them make even more connections with organizations across the country to better understand what is happening on the ground when it comes to both monarchs, pollinators, and the plants on which they depend. To learn more about the USA National Phenology Network, please visit https://www.usanpn.org/
The Monarch Joint Venture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Header photo courtesy of the USA National Phenology Network.