Here’s a link to the citizen science project proposed for members and others to do.

According to the website: “Use the New Sentinel Tree or Annual Data options to record your tree data. New Sentinel Trees will require you to identify the tree location on a simple Google Map and record your first observation. Annual Observation data is recorded once a year for all Sentinel Trees in your network.”

Dean Krauskopf, Ph.D., would like to expand the reach of this citizen science project which is suitable for interested adults and kids. There are many tree species to choose from on the MISIN website. You pick the tree or trees that you want to adopt. It can be in any county, in your backyard, in a park, up north, anywhere convenient for you to visit at least once a year, any time of year.

Invasive species tend to move into new areas by planes, trains, trucks and automobiles, so adopting trees near the airport, train tracks, highways, and rest stops might be especially valuable, but starting in your backyard is great.

The initial selection and identification might take 15-20 minutes including using a tape measure to measure the diameter. The next step is visiting the website to establish the new tree in the network of sentinel trees. After that, return to the tree to observe for about 10 minutes annually and then to the website to record any changes. For tall trees, you might want to bring binoculars to get a better look toward the top.