Budburst is Getting Social!

Budburst will be expanding its community aspect of community science by connecting Budburst participants to each other! We are introducing NEW user and group privacy settings that will allow users to share observations and make connections with other users as well as create and join more groups to complete challenges and collect data with other phenology fans. These settings will go into effect in January, when our mobile app launches. To help us make this transition, we are asking users and group managers to change their privacy settings now. To do this go to your account or group page and click edit. If you have any questions or concerns about this update please email us at info@budburst.org.

 


 

Remote Learning Curriculum, Grades 3-5

NGSS-aligned curriculum is now available for Grade 3-5 educators wishing to engage students in Budburst phenology observations during remote learning. Students become Budburst community scientists from home by studying the timing of seasonal life events in plants around them. 

How to become a Budburst Citizen Scientist

 


Understand the science of phenology, its history and contributions. 
Meet the five Budburst plant groups, and
Review key phenology events within each plant group.

Select your plant: one featured by a Budburst Project or Partner, or
one from the over 400 Budburst plants!
Will this be a phenology, pollinator, or special project observation?

Register as a Budburst citizen scientist to create your account,
Post your observation reports, and
Review and analyze your data.

Monarch butterfly on Common milkweed plant

Milkweeds and Monarchs

Summer 2020 - Fall 2025

Declines in monarch butterfly populations in North America may be due to declines in milkweed plants, a necessary part of the butterfly's reproductive cycle. The butterflies lay their eggs exclusively on milkweeds, which their caterpillars (larvae) rely on for food as they develop. Researchers are studying the relationship between milkweeds and monarchs more closely, and Budburst is enlisting our citizen scientists to help answer the question, do monarch butterflies prefer to lay eggs on flowering or non-flowering milkweed stems?

Participate

Education

We offer climate change and phenology materials and tools for formal and informal educators for all age groups. Budburst educator accounts provide a classroom portal, including plants, locations and student accounts.

Budburst data are freely available for anyone to download and use and have been used by scientists, horticulturalists, and educators in the Budburst network and beyond to address current research questions.