On Thursday September 19th and Friday September 20th AP environmental science students went on a field trip to RMNP to engage in an ongoing project in which AP environmental science students collect and analyze data to monitor changes in ecological structure of Rocky Mountain forest communities over time.

 

Students from TJ AP environmental science classes went to Rocky Mountain National Park on Wednesday September 26^th and Thursday September 27^th to participate in a citizen science forest monitoring project.  The weather was good and students successfully surveyed two study sites.  Students will analyze the data they collected to observe how the forest study sites have changed over time, in terms of species composition and age structure (since 1972 when the baseline data was collected).  Then, students will write scientific explanations that account for the ecological and environmental drivers behind the observed changes.  Finally, students will include their observations and scientific explanations in a brief scientific report.

 

 

The TJ Forest Project allows AP environmental science students to participate in a forest-monitoring citizen science project in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  Students conduct field research in subalpine forests of RMNP.  In this ongoing project, student citizen scientists collect and analyze data to monitor changes in forest composition over time.  Park scientists may use these data to gain an understanding of how mountain ecosystems are changing over time.