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Observe plants and animals on the Appalachian Trail

 

  

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Get Involved

You can contribute to the plant and animal monitoring along the Appalachian Trail or in your nearby gateway community. Below is our list of monitoring regions and participation options.

Print out our program description and spread the word about A.T. Seasons!

Current Monitoring Regions

  • New England: White Mountains, New Hampshire & Southern Massachusetts
  • Mid Atlantic: Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia & Northern Virginia
  • Southern Virginia
  • Deep South: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, North Carolina & Georgia

Download our Google Earth file of the A.T. Seasons corridor where sites can be established.

Levels of Participation

The Trained Observer

You can become an A.T. Seasons Trained Observer by attending a training led by one of our partner group.  At the training you will register with A.T. Seasons on Nature's Notebook and be assigned a monitoring site on the A.T.  If no sites currently exist near you, partner staff can work with monitors to establish new sites in your area. Sites should be visited at least weekly, therefore partner groups may establish more conveniently located monitoring site(s) at natural areas within the A.T. corridor.  As an observer, you will learn detailed information on the plants and animals found at your site(s), be trained on carrying out the monitoring protocol, and learn how to enter your data online. 

Contact Us if you are interested in a training.

The Casual Mobile App Observer

If you are interested in one-time, periodic, or opportunistic monitoring you can choose to download the A.T. Seasons Android app and follow a shorter monitoring protocol than those who opt for in-person training. You'll register online, join A.T. Seasons and one of our groups, and then will be able to view a drop down list of site. Contact us if you have trouble determining which sites are nearest you. Make sure you join a group and sync the app before you hit the trail. See this graphic on how to register and sign up today!

Partner Group

If you are a teacher, educator, or leader with a school, college, university, youth organization, or environmental group based near the A.T., you may choose to conduct monitoring activities on your own campus, property or nearby natural setting.  If you are interested in becoming a part of the A.T. Seasons project please contact the appropriate regional partner group staff.  A.T. Seasons partners can provide training workshops and help you set up your own on-site monitoring.