Phenology is the study of the timing of organisms’ life cycle events. When do trees bud, flower, show leaf color change or loss? What season is marked by bird nest building, hatching, or migration? As part of a class project in the Applied Sustainability Practicum, we expanded the concept to include human and cultural events; seasonal patterns of student behavior, or the ebb and flow of student population in a given area. The SMCM Phenological Clock demonstrates college students co-exist with a diverse range of organisms including trees, birds, and other species, and display similarly detectable seasonal patterns. 

 

As an interdisciplinary public art installation, the SMCM Phenological Clock, derived from Natalie Jeremijenko's work at New York University, is a creative lens through which we can reposition our human activities within a broader ecological framework.
 

​