Residents interested in recording the impact of a changing climate are invited to attend a training session offered by the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, entitled “Signs of the Seasons.”
The training workshop will be held on at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at the Thomas Memorial Library. Attendees will be introduced to the concepts of phenology – the study of cyclical life events like animal migrations, insect emergence and plant leafing, blooming and fruiting.
Erika Carlson Rhile, chairwoman of the land trust’s Education Committee, said, “We can compare historical and recent data to identify shifts in long-term phenological trends. The timing of phenological events is important for health, recreation, agriculture, management of natural resources and conservation.”
Land trust volunteers will be asked to choose a location in town to record their observations and enter them into an online database. For example, there are several indicator species to watch for, including spring peepers, wood frogs, lilacs, maple trees, beach roses, dandelions, monarch butterflies and hummingbirds.
Call 767-6040 to sign up for this program or for more information.
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