Phenology of the North Calotte

Background

Phenology of the North Calotte is an initiative aimed at stimulating schools to actively take part in nature observations and registrations. Phenology is about observing temporal changes in nature and registering what happens at different seasons. Phenology data contribute to increased ecological knowledge and is also useful when studying climate changes and traditional use of nature resources.

Who can join the network?

The Phenology of the North Calotte is a project foremost addressing pupils of schools in the border area between Norway and Russia. The target group is defined as pupils at the age of 12-15 years. However, the programme can easily be modified to be suitable for younger and older pupils. Year 2002 is identified as a development phase of the project, and some selected schools in Murmansk Oblast and Finnmark County take an active part in this work.

Programme content

• Interactive website
• Project manual
• Field guide

The programme "Phenology of the North Calotte" includes this interactive web site where school classes/groups can register their phenology data as well as study results from all the registration areas in the programme. Teachers and pupils can also benefit from the wide spectre of information and activities available at the Norwegian Environmental Education Network.

The project manual contains an introduction to phenology, descriptions of relevant species/groups and phenophases included in the phenology programme, information on how to join the North Calotte web, and a dictionary on relevant expressions and terminology. The project manual will be issued in separate printed Norwegian and Russian versions and will also be available for downloading from this site. The field guide includes illustrations of the selected study objects and topics focussed on in the programme. Scientific names are used with their English, Norwegian and Russian equivalents. A short English text is given that describes the various species/groups and other central topics.

Cross-border co-operation

The development of the Phenology of the North Calotte programme is an integrated part of the Barents Local Agenda 21 project at Svanhovd Environmental Centre. This is an initiative that seeks to increase the ecological knowledge and environmental awareness among pupils and teachers in the border area between Norway and Russia. The idea of developing a phenology network for schools in the north was launched by Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, and this institution plays an active role in developing the programme. The Environmental Education Network in Norway is responsible for the interactive web solution and will also give an introductory course for the teachers who take part in the development of the project.

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