Erratum and MeadoWatch Update

The contact address for MeadoWatch should be mwatch(at)uw.edu. This information has been updated in our May 2 and May 5 posts. We apologize for any inconvenience the erroneous address may have caused.

The training session to be held at Tahoma Woods is now booked to capacity, but if you would still like to attend a training session, two more will be offered at the University of Washington's Hitchcock Hall. The dates are Thursday, June 5th from 7pm-9pm and June 7th from 9:30am to 11:30am. For further details, please contact Anna Wilson at mwatch(at)uw.edu.

MeadoWatch 2014

MeadoWatch is looking to recruit volunteers for the 2014 wildflower season! This program was a big hit in the Park last year with volunteers gathering phenologic data on the occurrence of specific species in selected areas.

This year, observers will monitor ten different wildflower species at nine locations along a system of trails which run north to south across approximately 2000 feet (600 meters) of elevation. The 5.5 mile round-trip hike consists of the east branch of the Lakes Trail to the Skyline Trail and finally to the Paradise Glacier trail. This hike can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending on trail conditions, the volunteers' plant identification experience and how fast each person hikes. As a token of appreciation for collecting valuable phenological data, project volunteers may enter the park for free on the day that they will be surveying, and will also have the option to camp within the park for free.

Sign for MeadoWatch or learn more about the project through their website MeadoWatch.org

If you would like to be involved in a citizen science project studying phenology on Mt. Rainier through the collection of photographs from across the entire mountain, please read the details regarding Photo Collection here.

MeadoWatch staff will be holding a training session at the Tahoma Woods Education Center on June 21, 9:00 AM to approximately noon. Contact Anna Wilson mwatch(at)uw.edu for more information.

MeadoWatch Times

Anna Wilson has just posted a summary of MeadoWatch activities on the MeadoWatch Blog. She says, "The first year of MeadoWatch was an enormous success - all because of YOU! We are so glad you could join us in our inaugural year and we couldn’t be happier about your enthusiasm for wildflower phenology and collecting data! The extensive data you helped us collect is enormously valuable for science and the management of the park’s natural resources." To learn more about how this program helps us to understand climate change, be sure to read the "MeadoWatch Times," a .pdf file linked at the bottom of the blog page.

A few statistics shared by Anna:
48 Volunteers
78 Survey Days
429 Miles Hiked
468 Trail Hours
17,472 Data Points

Thank you, Citizen Scientists, for all your help!