Project Bud Burst

Reported May 2011

DENVER (Ivanhoe Newswire) --If the possibility of climate change has you concerned, you can help do research even if you are not a scientist. In fact, thousands of citizen-scientists are contributing just by watching their own backyard.

By profession, Jim Krugman is a civil engineer. But his hobby and passion are plants.

“So when I saw an article in the paper about the budburst program. I thought, oh, I think I will try that. I think I will sign up for it and see what it’s like,” Jim Krugman Project BudBurst Volunteer, told Ivanhoe.

“This movement is called ‘citizen science,’ where we have people that may not have advanced training in ecology or botany or whatever field of science of interest but they can make useful observations that scientists do and can use,” Sandra Henderson, Project BudBurst director, told Ivanhoe.

Project BudBurst tracks phenological stages (stages when leaves or flowers first appear) of all plants but the ten most wanted are easiest indicators.

“We choose America’s ten most wanted plants so we could focus attention and get the largest number of observations possible on plants that are of great interest to scientists. These plants are all relatively easy to identify and occur in most parts of the country,” Henderson explained.

Scientists say when compared to historical data this information confirms spring is occurring earlier.

“Maybe to a gardener that is wonderful news that their tulips come out earlier but what we are really troubled by is different plants and animals are able to change. So now you are changing all the relationships and that is where it gets quite worrisome,” Paul Alaback, Forest ecologist at Project BudBurst told Ivanhoe.

Spring comes about 10 days earlier, but for the citizen scientist it is just one more reason to garden. If you would like to be part of project bud burst, check out their website to sign up. No science background is required.

The American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Sandra Henderson
UCAR Education and Outreach
sandrah@ucar.edu

If we’re not careful, lions and tigers could die out in our lifetime. The big cats are at the top of the food chain and without them, other species could come under attack. Find out what you can do to make sure the king of the jungle survives humankind.

Sea turtles are one of the earth's oldest creatures. For millions of years they’ve thrived, but now they’re facing extinction. We track the turtles and ways to save them.

The great apes are our closest genetic relatives. We share 97 percent of our DNA, but we’re also the biggest threat to their survival. See how you can protect our closest cousins.

Twenty percent of the country’s energy is consumed in office buildings, and most of that is just for lighting. We’ll go inside the greenest building in the U.S, and possibly the world

Evidence of spring is everywhere, but is it also evidence of climate change? Find out how thousands of citizens are doing research just by watching their own backyard.

The Internet is partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. But not everyone is winning, we’ll show you how to win more and lose less, with the secrets behind online poker.

Parkinson’s disease affects a million Americans and 10 million people around the world. We’ll show you what roles race and income may play in the care of patients.

Twenty-six million Americans suffer from frequent back pain, and one of the biggest challenges is figuring out where the pain is coming from. Doctors now have a new device that could help detect back pain right at the source.

Each year more than 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke. A severe stroke can rob a person of their ability to speak, and move. Now patients can regain faster and better…even a decade after their stroke.

Experts have a difficult time diagnosing an autism spectrum disorder before the age of two, but detecting autism in infants may be all in the eyes! We’ll show you what doctors can now see earlier than ever before.

Keeping your pet healthy is important, but many pet owners aren’t sure how much is too much to feed Fido. See how keeping track of your pet’s health is now at your fingertips.

What do Wolfgang Puck or Top Chef Richard Blais have in common? These chefs put pizzazz on the dinner plate using molecular gastronomy. We’ll go into the kitchen to show how chemistry adds flare to our food.