□ Participatory Science at EwA (Live StoryMap): An interactive StoryMap about EwA’s program: its model, what the projects are, who EwA engages, and the program’s impact. The StoryMap is also an invitation to all to get engaged in environmentally-focused participatory science.
□ The 2023 EwA Conservation Highlights (Released: Jan. 17th, 2024): An 8-page summary of our work this past year, a shortlist of our accomplishments, and a few favorite infographics.
□ The 2023 EwA Vernal Pool and Threatened Species Report (Released: Dec. 26th, 2023 / Sent annually to the Department of Conservation and Recreation): Annual report of EwA’s vernal pool documentation and certification program–its field activities and findings. The 2023 field season started big with the discovery of a marbled salamander larva–the first one in the Fells since the 1930s. This news made the Boston Globe and also made EwA’s partners happy, including the Zoo New England, who released adults a few years back in the hope of seeing marbled salamanders in the Fells again. The Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program approved our sighting report right away. Again, This year, we exceeded our goals by successfully documenting more pools than we originally anticipated. We found biological evidence for six additional pools, bringing our total to 27 EwA-confirmed vernal pools since we started the program in 2019.
□ EwA’s Keeping the Middlesex Fells Whole project is a crucial conservation initiative dedicated to providing a comprehensive overview of human impacts on the Fells. Our objective is to strike a balance between its recreational and aesthetic value for humans while safeguarding the ecological needs of its diverse non-human residents.
For an overview of the project’s evolution and upcoming analysis and action plans, we invite you to explore the EwA Habitat Fragmentation StoryMap. This serves as a roadmap, guiding our efforts towards a more sustainable future for the Fells.
The Reality of Urban Forest (Released: March 16th, 2024) highlights EwA’s findings from year three of monitoring habitat fragmentation at the Middlesex Fells.
The Middlesex Fells Reservation Park Usage 2023 Stats Highlights (Released: Feb. 19th, 2024) stands as a pivotal component within the EwA’s Keeping the Middlesex Fells Whole project. This comprehensive statistical summary of the Park usage survey provides invaluable insights into the dynamic utilization patterns of Middlesex Fells.
Additionally, our EwA Fells Habitat Fragmentation Web Map Tutorial (Last Update: Dec. 15th, 2023) explains the mapping product developed under the project. It includes a statistical summary of our findings to date, focusing on the documentation of habitat fragmentation within this mixed-use urban forest.
□The 2023 EwA Biodiversity Digest (Released: Feb. 4th, 2024): A Year in Biodiversity–A tour of some of our favorite 2023 observations. Of course, we also report important data and explain our biodiversity-focused program and who the participatory scientists behind the data are.
□ The 2023 EwA Entomology Recap & Data Dashboard (Released: March 2nd, 2024): The report format is a presentation to our community, A Year Searching for Bugs. The presentation tours some of our favorite observations of insects and spiders at our sites. We explain the why, what, and how of our arthropod-focused program. We show one of EwA’s most recent protocols and invite the audience to experience it. Of course, we also highlight the EwA data and its impact.
□ The 2023 EwA Phenology Report (Released: April 9th, 2024): Exploring Climate’s Influence on Pollinator-Plant Dynamics. The report delves deep into the significance of phenology and EwA’s important role in documenting climate impacts on a local and national scale. A focal point of this edition is the Nectar Connectors phenology project, conducted in collaboration with USA-NPN, aiming to understand the timing of nectar production and its pivotal role in sustaining pollinating insects. Through rigorous weekly documentation of plant and pollinator phenophases and behaviors, this project helps reveal the intricate ecological processes at play. Additionally, the report offers a journey through the seasons alongside the Eastern purple coneflower, showcasing its full-year cycle from vibrant blooms to autumn hues, providing a visual and intellectual feast for nature enthusiasts and scientists alike. A delight for the eyes and mind!
ℹ️ More about the reports…
Earthwise Aware (EwA) runs a field naturalist community science program that advances biodiversity and climate research while promoting ecological ethics and the democratization of science.
While the EwA reports compile the results and data collected from a year’s worth of EwA fieldwork, they are not purely data-driven reports. In addition to reporting those results, they document EwA’s developmental and operational process. They summarize EwA’s field projects and general findings and explain EwA’s field methods and how to access our data for further analysis. The audience for these reports is varied and comprises our citizen scientists and volunteers, our partners and collaborators, the cities where our programs are located, and the various non-profit and governmental organizations we work with. [📊 Latest Reports]
