About us
The lake shapes our lives and the world around us.
Here in the Twin Ports, Lake Superior shapes our lives, our jobs, the local economy and the land around us. The lake even creates a large temperature gradient across the landscape as we approach it. However, Lake Superior is warming and our landscape is changing. If we want to know how things are changing, we all need to become scientists and start recording what we see.
Our world is changing.
Since 2018, we have been working with volunteers to design this program and three nature trails in Duluth. Our goal is to help answer three critical questions:
How is phenology impacted by Lake Superior?
How is phenology impacted by changes in the climate?
What is long-term trajectory of declining species like paper birch, Betula papyrifera and green ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica?
Help us understand these changes.
If you are interested becoming a volunteer, we are looking for people who want to:
Engage in a community of volunteers, students and scientists passionate about our natural areas in Duluth
Learn about recording phenology in our annual spring workshop
Commit to visiting one nature trail (e.g., Leif Erikson, Bagley or Boulder Lake) at least once every month.
Participate in the program for at least three years.
Enjoy learning about how the lake and our climate shape phenology!
The goal of our program is to increase knowledge and awareness about plants and climate change by engaging volunteers in scientific research and providing opportunities for the general public and educators to connect with their local environment.
About us:
Jessica Savage, Assistant Professor & Erin O'Connell, First Project Coordinator
This program developed by Jessica Savage (UMD), an Assistant Professor at UMD (https://sites.google.com/d.umn.edu/jsavage/home) in collaboration with Ryan Hueffmeier (UMD and Boulder Lake) and Erin O'Connell (who was the first coordinator of the program). Jessica is a plant physiologist whose research is focused on understanding how plants tolerate seasonal changes and the impact of climate change on plant phenology.
Contact us:
superiorphenologynetwork@gmail.com
Our partners:
University of Minnesota - Duluth
Boulder Lake Environmental Center
Funding and support:
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (NSF IOS1656318) and an American Society of Plant Biologists Bloome grant. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation and ASPB.