Reply To: Plant Phenology Team

[Kristin Joivell]

After undergoing a simple training lesson about identification of phenophases in crocus and tulip plants, students recorded their data in Plant Phenology Journals.  Phenophases were represented by simple letter abbreviations with B meaning budding, O meaning blooming, W meaning wilting, and X meaning that the petals had dropped off of the plant completely.

Over the two school years it was interesting to note how easily the students were able to infer why they thought there were differences between the phenophases of the plants in the warmed open top chamber plot and the unwarmed fenced plot.  Having photographs of each plot available during these discussions helped students with forming stronger, more evidence based ideas as they compared and contrasted the phenophases noted in the different plots.