Citizen Science 
BudBurst at the Parks for Educators
Whether you're at a National Park or your schoolyard, in K-12 or College, part of formal or informal education, Project BudBurst was designed to help educators and their students reach educational objectives and outcomes. Teachers can use Project BudBurst to address a variety of science, geography, and other objectives while getting their students outside to observe the environment around them. Students can use Project BudBurst protocols to develop their own inquiry based investigations. All of the activities on the Project BudBurst educator pages are aligned with national education standards (science, math, and geography). Project BudBurst focuses on making scientific observations and we provide content on plant life cycles, ecosystem interaction, phenology and climate change. By participating in Project BudBurst, students are part of a continental scale ecology research effort where scientists are using their data. Students can also access Project BudBurst data from their My BudBurst page to do their own analysis. We invite educators to share their stories of Project BudBurst in their classroom or ask us questions at budburstinfo@neoninc.org.
Q. We don't have the resources to take our students to a Park. Can we still participate?
Yes! Your students can participate in Project BudBurst by making observations of plants in your schoolyard, at a nearby park, at home, or wherever you know they can find plants to observe.Q. We don't have any plants on our school yard. Do you have other suggestions for how my students can get involved?
Your students can participate in Project BudBurst by making observations of plants on a nearby street, at home, or wherever you know they can find plants to observe. You can also contact us via email to talk with us about other creative ways to get your students involved with Project BudBurst.
Q: It isn't safe for me to take my students outside during the school day. Do you have any other suggestions for how my students can get involved?
If this is the case, please contact us via email. We'd like to talk with you one-on-one about other creative ways to get your students involved with Project BudBurst.
Q. How do we use the PBB mobile phone app?
This is a great tool to use if your students have access to smart phones. Learn more about our app for use with Android smartphones.
If you think of interesting ways to implement Project BudBurst at your Park or find yourself with additional questions, send an email to budburstinfo@neoninc.org.Photos courtesy of the National Park Service and the Chicago Botanic Garden.