In this Observer Story written by UCLA student Chloe Cheng, we learn about Nature's Notebook observers Beth and Kevin Mahar, long-time observers with the Tree Spotters at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. This story was part of UCLA Faculty Dana Cairns Watson's course "Science Writing for Public Engagement and Community Science Projects." Students interviewed Nature's Notebook observers and then wrote a creative piece to tell the observer's story.
Boston is the capital and most populous city of Massachusetts, serves as a major urban financial and cultural hub, and is home to the oldest public arboretum in North America. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a 281-acre living museum—a museum dedicated to the study, conservation, and cultivation of thousands of trees since 1872. Situated just a few miles from Harvard University, surrounded by residential neighborhoods and urban infrastructure, the Arnold Arboretum is a plant sanctuary, a park, and for many, a place to enjoy and take in nature amid the urban landscape of Boston.
Beth and Kevin Mahar are long-time volunteers of over ten years with the Tree Spotters—a program of citizen scientists under the USA National Phenology Network who track changes in phenology and tree life cycles in Boston at the Arboretum. The Tree Spotters program was originally run by Harvard Professor Elizabeth Wolkovich to extend her research linking climate change and phenology. In 2020, it transitioned to a volunteer-run citizen science group following Wolkovich's relocation to the University of British Columbia. Beth stepped in to keep the group going. The Tree Spotters were awarded the USA-NPN's 2021 PhenoChampion Award for their dedication and commitment to developing critical long-term datasets and creating excitement for phenology.
For Beth and Kevin, the Arboretum is a place to connect with nature and the trees that feel like family. When asked about their favorite thing to observe, Beth and Kevin respond: “I enjoy them all,” from the sugar maples, to the lindens, to the birches, to the buckeyes. In my meeting with Beth and Kevin, both become animated as they describe the facets of the trees’ phenophases and life cycles that are fascinating to them, and moments that have stuck with them during their tree spotting trips. “I mean, there's something about the buckeyes when they open up because … the buds start swelling a bit, but inside [them] is packed … and it seems to be almost within hours that they open, and when they do it’s kind of like fireworks,” Beth describes. She says that in the fall, the colors of the leaves of river birches light up Jamaica Pond, located less than a mile from the Arboretum, and that the fruits of linden trees “look a little like baseballs with a little wing on the head.”
Beth and Kevin recall that, over time, with their tree spotting endeavors, they began to notice the trees around them more. Beth, who lived in Northern California in her youth, notes the differences in nature between the environments she called home in her childhood and in the present. “[Now], I find that I look at trees first … I’ll take a walk, and it's really the trees that I'm looking at more,” Beth explains.
Beth and Kevin also highlight the dual impacts of their tree spotting, and of phenological data collection broadly: “[it’s] collecting data for climate change research [and] an external way to get to look even more closely.” Beth, an architect, reflects on how her tree spotting has broadened her perspective on architecture. “I mean, it is interesting as far as with the architecture … thinking about different woods [and] the built environment … and how everything is connected to everything else.” When redesigning rooms at the Corner Co-op Nursery School, where Beth has been extensively involved, Beth explains that “we’re figuring out how to bring the nature [from the nearby park] and all those things together.”
Personally, I’ve started tracking phenology just this year, and already I’ve begun to connect my work as a Materials Science and Engineering major to the nature around me. After I mentioned my major, Beth recalled: “You know, I just went on a walk [and] there was a researcher [investigating sustainable materials], looking at fungi, and trying to understand its properties and how it can be used as a building material.” It seems that more and more, nature is unequivocally connected to us and our lives. My conversation with Beth and Kevin also reminds me of naturalist and author Joanna Brichetto’s work on wonder in everyday urban nature, This Is How a Robin Drinks: Essays on Urban Nature. In their work, Brichetto reflects that “nature is under our feet, over our head, and beside us—the very places we need to know first.”
Thus, whether it be within urban nature, parks, or living museums like the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Beth and Kevin Mahar’s experiences and stories as nature observers, citizen scientists, and tree enthusiasts with the Tree Spotters can inspire others to observe and take in the nature around them, and to feel wonder and enthusiasm in everyday nature. Nature can be outside your home, across the street, and in pockets of the urban city. Immersing yourself in it can change how you view the world, your perspective on your work and profession, and how you perceive your surroundings. Perhaps, in looking more closely, you’ll find a personal connection to nature, whether that be fungi or a tree, in your everyday environment as well.
Learn about author Chloe Cheng:
Hello! My name is Chloe Cheng, and I am a Materials Science and Engineering student and rising senior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a technical breadth in Scientific Policy, Management, and Communication. I am very passionate about research progressing sustainable materials science solutions, science writing/communication, and community outreach! I am also fascinated by environmental literature, writing, and justice to support, advocate for, and connect to communities. This piece was written as part of a community-engaged course at UCLA (Science Writing for Public Engagement and Community Science Projects) in our work with the USA-NPN to highlight its volunteers!