Trees reflect the changing seasons and the health of our environment. By observing them closely, we not only experience joy and a deeper connection to our surroundings, but also learn how climate change is affecting our neighbourhoods. SeasonWatch (www.seasonwatch.in) is a citizen science and climate education programme that runs across India. Thousands of students, teachers, and nature lovers contribute by recording the stages of leaves, flowers, and fruits on 172 tree species, using a common scientific method. Over the past 15 years, the project has collected more than 8.9 lakh observations. These records have helped us understand how weather and geography affect the flowering and fruiting of trees like Mango, Jackfruit, and Tamarind in Kerala.
Sayee Girdhari holds a Master's degree in Botany from Savitribai Phule Pune University. She is a project coordinator at the SeasonWatch Project of the Nature Conservation Foundation. She loves to talk about plants and help connect people with them.