2021 Community Trees Challenge: Science is Better Together

15 April 2021 to 15 May 2021

Short link to this page: https://observer.globe.gov/trees-2021.

Celebrate trees by joining the GLOBE citizen science community in the 2021 Community Trees Challenge, where Science is Better Together!

Who can participate: Everyone! (students and teachers at all grade levels, informal educators, and the public in GLOBE countries.) While getting out and taking observations might not be possible for everyone, this challenge provides multiple ways to participate and learn all about trees.

How to participate: During the Community Trees Challenge, The GLOBE Program is asking citizen scientists to observe, learn, engage, and create as they track their progress on the Trees Challenge activity tracker. You can choose the best journey for your interests or try to complete all the activities. Work together as a family, as a group of friends, or independently.

By completing these activities, you will improve your science observation skills, enrich your understanding of trees as part of our landscape, learn why NASA studies trees, be a part of a NASA-sponsored citizen science project, as well as join a citizen science community. Your observations of tree height contribute to a global database that is free and open so that anyone - scientists, students, communities, and citizen scientists - can conduct research.

Read the news story about the launch of the challenge, "You Better Beleaf it: NASA GLOBE Program to Host 2021 Trees Community Challenge."

The 2021 Community Trees Challenge has concluded. Read a summary of the challenge, and download a customizable certificate (PDF) to celebrate your participation. Print or share on social media, and thanks for joining in!

Choose your Participation Options:

Thanks to our friends at the Los Angeles Public Library, we are pleased to also be able to offer the Community Trees Challenge activity tracker (full color version) in the following languages in addition to English:

հայերեն (Armenian),   中文 (Chinese),   日本語 (Japanese),   한국어 (Korean),   فارسی (Persian),   русский (Russian),   español (Spanish)

Observe trees:

• Take a tree height observation using the GLOBE Trees tool in the GLOBE Observer app.
• Build a clinometer and measure a tree. Take it further by doing a comparison of the data from a handheld clinometer and the GLOBE Trees tool.

  Thanks to our friends at the Los Angeles Public Library, we are pleased to also be able to offer the Build Your Own Clinometer activity (full color version) in the following languages in addition to English:

  հայերեն (Armenian),   中文 (Chinese),   日本語 (Japanese),   한국어 (Korean),   فارسی (Persian),   русский (Russian),   español (Spanish)

• Start a nature journal about trees.
• Take a land cover observation with trees in it.

Always follow guidelines from your local officials, and only participate in GLOBE activities or use the GLOBE Observer app if it is safe to do so.

Learn about trees:

• Read about trees:
  • Books for kids 
  • Books for teens and adults 
  • Articles from NASA's Earth Observatory  about trees
  • Read the blogs "Trees are Land Cover," "The Real-World Benefit of the NASA GLOBE Observer Trees Tool", "The Keystone 10 Million Trees Project" or "The Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake" in our GLOBE Observer News section
• Watch a video or webinar about trees:
  • See our full video list in the Trees Resource Library, or watch a YouTube playlist of videos   we've selected to highlight during the challenge.
  • The Los Angeles Public Library hosted a webinar on April 16 to learn why trees and tree height are so important and all about how to participate in the challenge. The webinar included a guided hands-on activity to build a clinometer (a tool for measuring tree height) using everyday materials. You can view a recording of the webinar  , or view the presentation slides   .
• Explore data about trees:
  • Tree height data and photos in the GLOBE Visualization System
  • Forest data collected by satellites in NASA's Worldview  
  • Surface and tree height data from the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2)   using OpenAltimetry  (watch this tutorial to see how to compare your GLOBE tree height data with ICESat-2 data )
• Browse the Trees Science page.

Create with trees:

• Create tree art. You can draw or paint a picture, make a leaf rubbing, or create something using tree products like wood, paper, pinecones, leaves, etc. (The example at far left below is from a student at St. Clare's Primary School , a GLOBE school in Dublin, Ireland.)
• Map trees near you or design your ideal park.
• Write a tree poem, pun, or song. Want some ideas? Watch this video full of NASA scientists sprouting their favorite tree puns .
• Create a "tree cookie" detailing your life. To learn how, check out Stories Trees Tell activity, or watch the accompanying video about tree stories .

Engage about trees:

As you complete activities or take observations, share your results with us through social media using #TreesChallenge  or by tagging the GLOBE Program. 

• Find a special tree and share what makes it special using #TreesChallenge. You can read about some examples of special trees in the blog post "What in the World are Moon Trees?"
• Ask an expert a question about trees. For example, talk to a tree scientist or arborist, or visit a nearby garden center or nursery and ask questions about trees local to your area. You can also join us on Thursday, May 6th at 2:00 pm EDT/18:00 UTC for a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" event  on the r/AskScience  channel, cross-posted to r/NASA  . 
• Make a short video about why trees are important and share it using #TreesChallenge.
• Follow GLOBE on social media:

Looking for even more activities to try? Check out the Trees Resource Library, or visit the Trees Family Guide!