It’s officially Fall, which means 2022 is coming to a close – and the Aldo Leopold Foundation is proud to announce the 2023 edition of the ever-popular Wisconsin Phenology Calendar! Celebrate the new year while enjoying stunning photography and tracking phenological events each month with the 2023 Phenology Calendar: It’s Time to Move.
Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events in nature. Did you notice the first Geese arriving in January? Sunflowers blooming in July? From birds nesting to flowers blooming, interpreting phenological events will assist you in better understanding the context of what is happening in the biotic community around you and can serve as meaningful markers of the changing seasons.
Dr. Stan Temple, Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and inductee to the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame, will lead you through 2023 with introductory text and monthly sidebar panels explaining iconic phenological events each month.
In this year’s calendar, Dr. Temple guides your exploration in the dispersal movements of various plants and animals. Dispersal movements are crucial ecological processes that involve the passage of an individual away from one location to another. Seasonal clues like changes in day length, temperature, and precipitation are often used to trigger dispersal, or determine when ‘it’s time to move.’ In this calendar, Dr. Temple will elaborate on the different modes of dispersal used by plants and animals as well as provide insight into the importance of these movements to species survival and reproduction.
Kick-off the new year with a calendar that draws on years of phenological records from Aldo Leopold, Nina Leopold Bradley, and the Aldo Leopold Foundation Staff, and join in on the fun by starting your own phenological records, using the calendar as your guide!
Interested in learning more? Click the link to read about the history between Leopold and phenology: https://www.aldoleopold.org/teach-learn/phenology/
Can’t wait to get your hands on the 2023 Phenology Calendar? Act now! The calendar pre-sale will end October 31st, after which the calendars will only be available as supplies last.
