University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Orono and Maine Sea Grant will offer four free Signs of the Seasons training options for volunteer citizen scientists around the state.

Monarch butterfly and bumble bee on swamp milkweed. Photos courtesy of University of Maine Cooperative Extension

The training options include a three-part webinar series from 4 to 5 p.m. Monday, March 22, Wednesday, March 24, and Friday, March 26.

Online training co-hosted by Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 23.

In-person, socially distanced training, co-hosted by Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 5, at 132, Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay. The training is limited to 10 participants.

Online training, co-hosted by Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, will be offered from  4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5.

Pink Lady’s Slipper.

Each training includes information about the importance of studying phenology in a changing climate, the relevance of indicator species to New England, and how to set up a site and start observing. Data collected by volunteers contribute to an online database hosted by the National Phenology Network.

All trainings are free and open to the public; registration is required for each session. To register and to find full details on the program, visit extension.umaine.edu. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Esperanza Stancioff at 207-832-0343 or esp@maine.edu.