Backyard Phenology is a participatory art and science project for people to share stories and forge new connections to place.

The project fosters an ongoing multilogue about the ecosystems we inhabit; and how we understand those ecosystems through art, science, and culture. Dip into the conversation by browsing documentation on Backyard Phenology's objects, events, ephemera, and audio recordings.

Objects

Climate Chaser

Whether you call it a caravan, camper, or trailer, the mobile home is iconic and common to many cultures. But it carries different associations for folks in different walks of life. As such, it is a boundary object, something that joins people from different communities into a shared conversation and—potentially—collaboration.

An castoff camper trailer with a rounded shape sits outside of a garage

The restored camper has new interior cabinetry and a refinished chrome exterior

An illustration of the Climate Chaser trailer, set up outdoors in a residential area with an open door and a welcoming sign

Nine people wearing shorts and branded tee shirts ("Backyard Phenology") are posed outside the Climate Chaser camper trailer

Two people seated at a small table inside the trailer camper, with dramatic lighting and recording equipment

In the summer of 2023, the BYP team refurbished and enhanced Climate Chaser in preparation for a fall exhibit at Regis Center for Art (September 12-December 9, 2023). New features include sound design by Brian Heller and upholstery by Olli Johnson using fabrics designed by Steve Premo.

Silver camper in a gallery space, the door is open and interior lights welcome visitors

Two smiling people are seated within the Climage Chaser camper

Camper interiorwith cushioned seating around a table and objects to interact with

View from the camper's door, looking in at seating, cabinets, string lighting, and a library of objects

Within the Climate Chaser, art by Chotsani Elaine Dean is on view. Open the lidded box and gently flip through this small archive of plant seeds in paper packets, each with a handwritten catalogue of its contents.

Box containing small paper envelopes, handwriting describes what seeds are contained

Rectangular, white paper envelope with handwritten list of kinds of seeds contained

A paper envelope with an intricate geometric pattern made from black and white cut paper

Box containing paper envelopes, three of which have strongly contrasting designs made with cutout paper

Ephemera

Perennial journal

More than a handy place to keep notes, a journal helps us remember how it feels to notice. Perhaps, a slight buffer from the daily rush, a shuffle in the flow of time. A phenology journal is for jotting down what you see (or hear) in your backyard, from one day to the next. When will that oak out my window green up? When will a robin's song herald this year's spring?

Page from a notebook with hand-penned lines of script and a hand-colored illustration of a caterpillar on a leaf.

People doing phenology study the timing of things like birds singing, caterpillars growing, and flowers opening. You might ask,

How is that science?

Isn't that just "what's happening"?

All these "events" are organisms' way of telling us, "it's a good time of year for this part of my life cycle." For example, birds sing as part of their reproductive cycle and not uniformly year-round. Though it may appear simple, timing is incredibly complex. We can ask, what drives birdsong timing? We can get curious about consequences if birdsong gets triggered earlier or later than usual, or not at all.

Another example: caterpillar phenology. Caterpillars hatch from eggs, grow, and metamorphose into winged adults. These stages happen not only in sequence, but also at appropriate times of year, when critical conditions and resources are present. A monarch, or any kind of caterpillar, evolved in its home climate. Change to the home climate can potentially threaten monarchs en masse, as regional groupings and as a global population.

The same goes for loons, wildflowers, fishes, mosquitoes, and on and on. All these beings evolved within and depend on our home climate.

Photo: John Temperley Gray, Notebook, 1862-88. (CC BY 4.0) Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36023998

Phenology journal - yellowed ledger paper with plant names in cursive, July 1881

Climate change threatens organisms, their interdependencies, biological communities, ecosystems, and whole-earth systems. Shifts, ruptures and losses are already happening. Phenology is a way to understand these risks through science. At the same time, phenology also offers ways to develop a sense of place, nurture a community, and act in solidarity with others.

The perennial journal is designed to let everyone participate in phenology. Its pages invite you to imagine your own backyard, picture seasonal changes you expect to see, then capture your observations in notes. Observers can use one journal for multiple years, sparking curiosity about change through time.

Photo: Botanical notebook of Walter Deane, Archives and specimens from the Boston Metropolitan Park Flora. Held by Harvard University Botany Libraries. Retrieved from the Biodiversity Heritage Library: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/61304

A simple calendar layout for the month of January, with line for each day of the month. Illustrations of animals add interest to the design.

Events

Reframing Our Relations: A Community Meal and Conversation

October 2, 2022 at Franconia Sculpture Park

The Backyard Phenology collective designed this event to explore complicated narratives around invasive species, also referred to as non-local beings.

Hand-penned and hand-colored invitation reads "You're Invited" embellished with flowing stems, leaves, and seeds

Hand-penned invitation with event details and a prompt for storytelling. There is also space for the recipient to take notes as they reflect.

A long table with fifteen place settings. The colorful scene includes a red tablecloth, a large bouquet of colorful summer flowers, and living mushrooms under glass bell jars.

Four photos showing the source sumac and preparation of sumac lemonade

An attractive place setting with a green salad, flax seed bread, lemonade tinged pink by sumac, and yellow squash soup.

Three people sit around a table after a meal. The afternoon sun shines brightly on them, and into the space.

A serving of berry pie with ice cream on a china plate with a floral pattern

Eight people walking into the distance in an autumn landscape. The sun is low and the grass is green.

Small paper cards with hand-written messages are tied to a maple branch with brilliant red leaves.

BioQuest

September 25, 2021 at Franconia Sculpture Park

BioQuest was envisioned to connect ecology, land stewardship, and the arts, a major thread of Franconia Sculpture Park's mission. The day's activities were the collaborative work of artists, scientists, students, naturalists, public historians, sculpture park staff, and the public.

Silhouettes of animals in a circle, and a hand holding a cell phone

BioQuest was a playful program that encouraged visitors to pay attention to the plants and animals living amid Franconia’s sculptures. Guests of all ages used their smartphones to photograph plants, insects, birds, mammals, fungi, and other living beings. iNaturalist was used as a simple way to generate a collaborative map of Franconia’s biodiversity.

Program flyer (PDF)

The Noun Project icons: hands holding smartphone by Atif Arshad, Sound by Gregor Cresnar, Spider by Amy King, Bird by MD RIDUWAN MOLLA, Leaf by Baboon designs, Snake by Niké Jenny Bruinsma, Snail by Shaun Lee, Insect by Ragal Kartidev, Cane toad by Abby, marmot standing by Philipp Lehmann, Mushroom by Amethyst Studio, Ant by Jule & Matthias Steffen, and Butterfly by Oliver Kittler, and Butterfly by Vladimir Belochkin