Theresa M. Crimmins

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · 12h

Calling #NaturesNotebook participants! We have an opportunity for 18 observers to be interviewed by undergraduate students at UCLA this spring. The observer profiles will be featured on the @usa-npn.bsky.social website and in future newsletters.

Interested? docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Sign up to be interviewed by science writing students this spring

We have an opportunity for 18 Nature's Notebook observers to be interviewed by undergraduate students in a science writing course at UCLA titled "Science Writing for Public Engagement and Community Sc...

docs.google.com

MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 1d

Writing for NYT, Margaret Roach looks at changing landscapes & weather patterns with new eyes, referring to "Phenology" author Theresa Crimmins' advice to "weave a practice of observing seasonal cycles of plants and animals into your life to contribute to science as well as soothe your soul":

New Rules for the New Year

Perhaps the best way to confront the swiftly changing landscape is to swallow hard, and then move forward with a fresh approach.

www.nytimes.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · 11d

Amen!
New Rules for the New Year www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/r...
#phenology #climatechange #sustainability #keepingittogether

New Rules for the New Year

www.nytimes.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · 25d

December is a time when ‘… of the Year’ pieces appear in all kinds of publications. Nature Plants joined the trend, highlighting the importance of ground-based observations, like the @usa-npn.bsky.social 's plant and animal #phenology reports, in ground-truthing
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

… of the Year - Nature Plants

December is a time when ‘… of the Year’ pieces appear in all kinds of publications. For this year only, Nature Plants is joining the trend.

www.nature.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Dec 1

Definitely don't miss the virtual gathering of folks involved in tracking #phenology in the U.S. in Jan - it's going to be great!

USA National Phenology Network @usa-npn.bsky.social · Dec 1

⏰One week left to sign up to share about your Program at the 2026 LPL Virtual Conference!
View the full schedule, learn how you can participate, and register today. usanpn.org/community/Lo...
📷Lili Gama

USA National Phenology Network @usa-npn.bsky.social · Dec 1

⏰One week left to sign up to share about your Program at the 2026 LPL Virtual Conference!
View the full schedule, learn how you can participate, and register today. usanpn.org/community/Lo...
📷Lili Gama

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Nov 3

goodmenproject.com/featured-con...
Mt Auburn is a really special place, and their volunteers that track #phenology and other phenomena are really special people!

Cemeteries: How the Dead Protect the Wild

goodmenproject.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Oct 13

Lovely piece Andrew!

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Sep 24

www.nbcnews.com/science/clim... #phenology

Bright, brief and early: New England's fall foliage may not last long

A season that draws millions of tourists and billions of dollars to the Northeast may be briefer and less predictable this year as climate change reshapes the iconic fall landscape.

www.nbcnews.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Sep 22

Amazing interview with Amanda Wanlass, Executive Director of Indiana #Phenology! www.wishtv.com/beo-show/loc...

Local Group Helps Track Seasonal Changes in Plants and Animals

The team at Indiana Phenology travels the state, helping small businesses, teachers, and community groups learn how to track important seasonal changes in the environment.

www.wishtv.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Sep 22

I had such a great time at the Colorado Native Plant Society meeting this past weekend! Made some great friends and enjoyed seeing some glimpses of fall color 🍂#phenology

honey locust with leaves starting to change color

USA National Phenology Network @usa-npn.bsky.social · Sep 15

Applications now open for our Local Phenology Leader Certification Course, an interactive, online 10-week course on planning and implementing a long-term phenological monitoring program for your organization or community. Course runs Sep 29-Dec 5. Apply by Sep 21. www.usanpn.org/nn/LPLCertif...

A badge with people, a bird, leaves, and a flower with a banner that reads Nature's Notebook Certified Local Phenology Leader.

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Aug 14

The 2024 #BulletinAMS State of the Climate Assessment is out today. @usa-npn.bsky.social contributed data & info about how #phenology is changing in the U.S. The timing of plant and animal activity such as leaf-out is a strong indicator of species and ecosystem response to changing conditions.

2024 “first leaf” date anomalies across the United States relative to (a) 2023 and (c) the 2011–20 baseline, estimated using the USA National Phenological Network (USA NPN) extended Spring Index (SI-x) model (

Day of year of spring (green shades) and autumn (orange and yellow) vegetation phenology indicators for (a),(b) Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, derived from PhenoCam (PC), ground observations (GO) of red oak (Quercus rubra), and the USA National Phenology Network (USA NPN) regional-scale means of red oak observations (calculated across the northeastern states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, with ±1 std. error shaded)

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Aug 6

That's awesome! Thanks, Brian!

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jul 18

Hooray @lpzoo.org! Congrats on 5 years of #phenology observations on native hibiscus!
www.lpzoo.org/phenology-an...

Phenology and Flowers: Researching the Growing Cycles of Plants | Lincoln Park Zoo

An project studying the growing cycles of plants has been going on at Lincoln Park Zoo for five years—and is poised to expand for the next five.

www.lpzoo.org

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jul 13

They sure are!

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jul 9

Thank you so much, Michelle Sutton, for the wonderful review of my book, _#Phenology_, in City Trees Magazine! read.dmtmag.com/i/1537178-ju...?

City Trees - July/August 2025

City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!

read.dmtmag.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jun 20

Now, as always, getting outside is good for you and your mood. Thankful for the opportunity to write for Arizona Daily Sun. #phenology
azdailysun.com/opinion/colu...

Spotlight on Climate: Moments in nature can still soothe your climate-weary soul

And just like that, spring is behind us. The first day of summer will be here this weekend. But around the state, we are lacking some of the classic harbingers

azdailysun.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jun 14

@jeremyclark.bsky.social helped the @usa-npn.bsky.social explore options for generating commercial revenue.

It's tough for programs exist to serve the public. I hope our experience can help other programs suddenly struggling with $ loss.
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Jun 12

It's not uncommon for spring to start out early and then slow down, or vice-versa... see where either of those sequences of events occurred in the L48 states this past spring:

www.climate.gov/news-feature...

#phenology @usa-npn.bsky.social @climate.noaa.gov

First blooms of the 2025 spring season were earlier than average across most of the United States

According to a long-term index of flower timing, most U.S. areas saw flowers emerge earlier than average, except for a few, mostly coastal areas.

www.climate.gov

Natural History Institute @nhi-prescott.bsky.social · May 16

Join us for a talk by Theresa Crimmins on how we can all participate in documenting the timing of seasonal life cycle events—with benefits including mental health and supporting climate change action!
@theresacrimmins.bsky.social
@usa-npn.bsky.social

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · May 16

Today I got to witness a 5' gopher snake devour a young dove right from the nest - wow! #nature

MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · May 3

No need to dig for your next read: @empressofdirt.bsky.social provides recommendations from her #garden and #nature bookshelf, including "Phenology" by @theresacrimmins.bsky.social and "The Urban Naturalist" by @schilthuizen.bsky.social:

What I’m Reading: Gardening, Nature, & Life Stories — Empress of Dirt

If you’re looking for gardening and nature books that explore how the outdoors shapes our lives (and vice versa), this is a growing list of titles I’m reading, enjoying, and recommending, covering…

empressofdirt.net

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · May 2

Hi Henricus, it's been a while! good to reconnect!

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Apr 30

Ooooh! Thanks for clarifying :)

Great question! Best bet is to preserve as much detail as you can - for example, rather than only retaining the date you first saw something if you also have dates you *didn't* see something, retain both. Would be happy to have a chat about this, if it would help!

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Apr 29

Yes you can download raw data from this tool: data.usanpn.org/observations...

And for the API-friendly folk, we have an R package (rnpn) and APIs for accessing our data too - more here: www.usanpn.org/data/code

data.usanpn.org

Theresa Crimmins @theresacrimmins.bsky.social · Apr 29

Good question! All #phenology observations contributed to #NaturesNotebook are readily available! You can explore via a visualization tool: data.usanpn.org/vis-tool/#/ or download through an online query tool: data.usanpn.org/observations...

NPN Visualization Tool

data.usanpn.org