News from the Mountain

BY TINA HARTELL, MOUNTAIN CAMPUS TEACHER

As spring reveals itself on the mountain, students at the Mountain Campus are beginning a phenology study that will take them through to the end of the semester. Phenology, the study of seasonal change, has become essential in understanding local effects of climate change.

Students will be identifying different phenophase indicators—such as bud burst and bird migration—and collecting real-time data that will be contributed to Vermont citizen science groups in an effort to track how spring timing is evolving.

Alumnus Noah Forest ’22 (MC spring ’22) will be assisting in the study as well as facilitating a food and farm systems unit for this class. Two other Mountain Campus alumni Maggie Brown ’20 (MC spring ’18) and Chloe Andersen ’22 (MC spring ’20) have or will be joining our semester backpacking trips as trip co-leaders. We are so delighted to have alums return to the mountain and participate in different aspects of the program!