USA NPN First Leaf Index featured in New York Times' Learning Network

This week, The New York Times' Learning Network is featuring a visualization of the USA National Phenology Network's First Leaf Index, which depicts the average date that leaves first appear on early-spring plants. The purpose of these NYT features is to get high school and undergraduate (grades 9-14) students thinking about maps and information more thoroughly and critically. Students are invited to share their thoughts about what's happening in the map and why. Students are challenged to read and respond to one another's observations and questions.

Later this week, students will have the chance to discuss the visualization with experts from the American Statistical Association. Contributing to STEM learning is directly in line with one of the USA-NPN's goals - communicating and connecting with many audiences on the subject of phenology. We are all very excited about this experience!