This program is the third of Kestrel’s 2022 Ecological Solutions for Climate Change Speaker Series.

Is spring coming earlier in the Valley or does it just feel that way? The chorus of peepers in March, burst of red maple blossoms in April, or call of red-winged blackbirds in May are all familiar signs of spring and are all important moments in the lives of these animals and plants. These phenological events, and many others like them, are sensitive indicators of climate change.

Join Dr. Peter Curtis, Professor Emeritus of plant ecology at the Ohio State University in exploring the “science of appearances,”
known as phenology, to learn what it tells us about our environment. In this webinar, you’ll find out how and why species adjust their behaviors to climate, how different sensitivities to climate among interacting plants and animals will affect their ecology, and how citizen scientists of all types, from school groups to individual observers, can participate in the exciting effort to document the changing pace of life around us.

On Thursday, April 14 at 6:30pm Eastern Daylight Time, Peter will give a 60-minute online presentation followed by a 30-minute Q&A. Bring your curiosity and questions!

Peter Curtis, resident of Northampton, has published widely in the area of plant and ecosystem responses to climate change with a recent emphasis on carbon uptake and storage by forests as they age. At OSU, he taught courses in botany, ecology, ethnobotany, and climate change biology. For more about phenology, visit the National Phenology Network.

Registration is required, and the event fee is $15 minimum.