Seasons are changing. That's evident by lower snowfalls in some areas of the country, warmer temperatures in others, and slightly earlier blooming of plants in some regions.

The science around this change of seasons will be the topic of a one-day workshop at Joshua Tree National Park this Saturday.

This workshop will also explain how you can volunteer to help the park detect the impacts of climate change by observing the seasonal activities of the park’s desert plants, from bud-burst to flowering and fruiting. The California Phenology Project has been launched to implement a monitoring program focused on national parks in California.

Dr. Susan Mazer, a professor of plant ecology, genetics, and evolution at University of California, Santa Barbara, is researching the processes and results of evolution by natural selection, specifically as it pertains to vegetation. She will lead this workshop and share her extensive knowledge of species and plant communities ranging from South American tropical rainforests, to remote regions of the southern Sierra Nevada, to the central coast of California.

The workshop will be held at Joshua Tree National Park headquarters in Twentynine Palms. The group will meet at the Oasis of Mara from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Bring snacks, water, sunscreen, appropriate layered clothing for the predicted temperatures, a notebook and pen. If interested in this opportunity, please contact Josh Hoines at 760-367-5564, or at [email protected].