Sierra de las Nieves has joined the initiative of the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves and has begun its own phenological monitoring program.
But what is phenology? Phenology is the science that links climatic factors—such as temperature and precipitation—to the periodic rhythms of natural biological phenomena that occur in each season. The goal of an ongoing phenological monitoring program is to identify, over the long term, possible variations in certain biological events—such as earlier or later migrations, flowering, fruiting, and reproduction—among plant species, birds, and invertebrates common to Spain’s Biosphere Reserves, as well as those specific to and characteristic of the Sierra de las Nieves.
This activity is an educational project that aims to engage a broad audience—from students to nature lovers—by involving them and working together to assess how the effects of climate change are quietly leaving their mark on the Reserve. Citizen and volunteer participation is therefore essential for the success of this study.
In the fall of 2019, we will begin offering informational talks at schools in the Sierra de las Nieves area, along with one or more field trips to put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice. Through this, we hope to help our children bring out the scientist within them.
You can be a part of it, too—are you up for it?
Visit the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves website and sign up as a PHENOLOGICAL REPORTER. You can do so by clicking this link: http://rerb.oapn.es/fenologia
Mancomunidad 
