Update: April 5, 2012
Please Report
Your Sightings!
Report Your Sightings
It's springtime and a fun time to watch the growth in your Test garden. At the same time, longer daylight hours are changing the world around us. Take a walk about your neighborhood to capture signs of spring. Create a record of your findings. See what one class found! Don't forget to Ask the Expert this week.

This Week's Update Includes:

Image of the Week
photos
One Day in Spring
News: Garden Highlights
Warm Temperatures
March came and went bringing record breaking weather to much of North America. The warm temperatures brought many test gardens to bloom weeks earlier than normal. Strong spring rains and storms have damaged some gardens beyond repair. The sighting reports give us a glimpse of what is happening all across the continent. Check them out!
  • 03/23/12 Hyannis, Massachusetts
    About 1/3 of the tulips began to bloom on March 23. Those nearest the building were the first to bloom.
  • 03/21/12 Huntington, Vermont
    Unusually warm weather for the area. Expecting low 80"s this week and our tulips have emerged. (Brewster Pierce Memorial School was featured by Vermont Public Radio this week for their involvement in Journey North!)
rain damage
Strong rain damage in Southington, CT
bloom
First Bloom in Lansdowne, PA
Focus: Capture One Day in Spring

What is happening at the same time your tulips are blooming? Spring peepers, yellow jackets, tree swallows, and butterflies; these are some of the natural phenomena students are reporting this week.

On the day their tulip bloomed, one class in Midland, Michigan, took a walk around their neighborhood. They recorded what they saw and have captured the day!

How will you capture signs of spring on the day YOUR first tulip blooms?

Citizen Science Slideshow
Slideshow
 
Test Gardens: Maps and Journal Page
The map is filling with red. When will the remaining gardens emerge and bloom. Now is a good time to revisit your predictions. When will gardens in Alaska show some green?
tulip gardens North America tulip gardens North America
North America
(map | animation | sightings)
Eurasia
(map | animation | sightings)
Questions?: Ask the Expert
Ask the Expert
Special thanks to Mary Meyer for sharing her time and expertise to answer your questions! You still have time to submit your questions to Mary Meyer!

Ask the Expert Will be Open
March 23 - April 6, 2012.

Mary Meyer
Come Back for the next Test Garden update April 12, 2012.