Betty Ford Alpine Gardens is an internationally acclaimed botanic garden known for its alpine horticulture, education and conservation. Located in the small resort town of Vail, Colorado, Betty Ford Alpine Gardens is the highest elevation botanical garden in North America situated at 8,200’ (2,500 m) in the central Rocky Mountains, making it uniquely positioned to be a leader in understanding and conserving alpine habitats. Our interest in Budburst stems from an effort to engage citizen scientists as well as collect meaningful phenological data as part of the Gardens’ conservation research. We hope to start Budburst within the Gardens and eventually expand so that a trained team of volunteer citizen scientists can report back on the species they find while recreating in the alpine areas of Colorado to help us document and understand phenological patterns in these plants.