1. NPN Planning Workshop August 22-26, 2005 Canada Plantwatch Elisabeth Beaubien Plantwatch National Coordinator BioScience Department University of Alberta, Edmonton

2. 1.Brief History 2.Coordination, Partners 3.Promotion 4.Observers 5.Plants Observed 6.Phenophases (growth stages) 7.Funding 8.Results 9.Challenges and Strengths of Canada Plantwatch

3. plantwatch

5. Golden Bean Thermopsis rhombifolia

6. Phenological Observation locations: Royal Society dataset 1893-1922

7. Canada Plantwatch 1987 – “Alberta Wildflower Survey” 1995 – Canada Plantwatch based at University of Alberta: 8 plants, international lilac data (www.devonian.ualberta.ca/pwatch)www.devonian.ualberta.ca/pwatch In 2000, expansion thanks to Environment Canada’s EMAN CO office, and Canadian Nature Federation (now ‘Nature Canada’) www.plantwatch.ca : observers see their data mapped immediatelywww.plantwatch.ca

8. Project Coordination: Partners 13 regional coordinators (one in every province and territory) national coordinator Environment Canada EMAN-CO Nature Canada

10. Ice as a National Indicator

11. Program Promotion Booklets “Plantwatch: Canada in Bloom”, English and French Webpage: www.plantwatch.ca, 2 languageswww.plantwatch.ca Via articles in media/ magazines and regional newsletters OTHER PRODUCTS: Teacher Guide (100 p) at www.devonian.ualberta.ca/pwatchwww.devonian.ualberta.ca/pwatch For Northern Canada: Plantwatch north booklet, poster, pins, Webpage www.emannorth.ca/plantwatch/main.cfm

14. Observers Naturalists, gardeners, volunteer weather observers, ranchers, fire tower watchers, dog walkers Teachers and students Program of special interest to the retired (have time to do daily observations)

16. Data reporting Internet : to 2 sites – EMAN: 2900 observations since 2002, each coordinator has access to data for their region – University of Alberta website By mail, email, fax: regional data sheets go to coordinators who enter and archive

17. Plants observed About 40 species across Canada Each region uses subset, ranges from only 7 plant species in Nunavut, to 21 in Alberta Includes trees, shrubs, herbs (wildflowers) Selection based on developed criteria

26. Program funding Federal government supports website, conference calls, some meetings Regional coordinators find own funding Coalitions such as PlantWatch North, national coordinator, EMAN N coordinator have been successful

27. Trends in Canadian data Spring is coming earlier in the west Prunus virginiana (Chokecherry): 5 days earlier over 65 years Populus tremuloides (Aspen poplar): 26 days earlier over 100 years

28. First bloom: Populus tremuloides, Edmonton, Alberta

29. Program Challenges : include finding ongoing $ to support: coordinator calls and meetings, to exchange ideas and develop proposals regional coordination: tasks of promotion, volunteer management and communication (newsletters etc), data entry and analysis recruiting, training and keeping quality observers

30. Program Strengths 13 regional coordinators with great ideas and energy, and strong cooperation among northern coordinators federal government keen on “citizen science” initiatives support from public as observers long history of phenology in some parts of Canada

31. Thanks to these partners ! Plantwatch coordinators in every province and territory Environment Canada: EcoAction program Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Northern Ecosystems Initiative Meteorological Service of Canada University of Alberta: BioSciences Department Devonian Botanic Garden Nature Canada

33. Properly recorded and correctly interpreted, there is nothing perhaps to equal the records of the dates of periodical events in plants and animals as indices to the bioclimatic character of a place or local area, because such events are in direct response, not to one or a few, but to all the complex elements and factors of the environment, which no artificial instrument, or set of instruments, yet available, will record. …..A.D. Hopkins, 1918