Seasons In My Biome (SIMB)

 

I have always been interested in seasonal changes in my living environment. For several years my students have recorded phenological observations of trees around our school. And since I have attended two GLOBE workshops introducing the «Seasons and Biomes» project where I could establish contacts with teachers from all over the world I have realized more clearly than before how all the things on Earth are interconnected. The step from local observations to global comparisons helps to improve our knowledge of the interconnectedness of the Earth as a system.

The biodiversity and the large variety of habitats on our planet are stunning. A glance at a climatic or vegetation map confirms this and indicates that a biome is not only determined by latitude but also by distance to the sea, relief of the terrain, the prevailing winds etc. By experience we know that even within a biome we can find totally different habitats. And finally the impact of the seasons can lead to unusual changes at a particular place (we can have summer days with tropical conditions and arctic conditions on certain winter days where I live), but without becoming random. – What’s the impact of such changes on living beings and how do the living beings react to these changes?

Any child can tell you what seasons are. But seasons are more than that. They determine the plant’s, animal’s and human being’s rhythm and cycles of life and even affect our well-being, our health and happiness. They structure our time and over time change our lifestyle habits. I want to document such changes (sometimes dramatic and obvious, sometimes hidden, hard to recognize but nevertheless important) and their impact in different biomes all over the world. However, I'm not able to do this work alone; I would have to travel a lot, and even that would not be enough, because I would lack the local knowledge that grows over the years and only each of us has. I need the help of other people like you.

 

Therefore I invite you to participate in this fascinating long-term project and ask you:

1         Could you take a picture of a suitable place (that you see regularly; always exactly the same view) each month during at least 1 year (or several years) and each month send this picture with the needed data to me (first time explaining the view / each subsequent month documenting the changes)?

2         Could you tell me over time your personal thoughts and what you can find out about the change of seasons and its impact in your region?

 

Address to send pictures + texts: simbiome@gmx.ch

 

The pictures will be published on the following web site: http://www.seasonsandbiomes.net

For now you will see a temporary version.

 

Join us! I would appreciate your help and I’m sure you can benefit from this project, too. Get in touch with me. You can start at any time and will get a monthly e-mail reminder henceforth. Consider taking pictures as a chance to encounter nature regularly in a new way and to understand better the greatest miracle on Earth: Life.

 

Markus Eugster

 

 

Markus Eugster, Sekundarschule, Schöntalstrasse 2, CH – 9244 Niederuzwil, Switzerland                                            markus.eugster@schule-uzwil.ch