Understanding the seasonal cycles of plants and animals in protected areas is part of a rich legacy of natural history observations and is critical for tracking climate change impacts. Since 2008, the USA National Phenology Network and the National Park Service have partnered to engage the next generation of park stewards to develop and pilot protocols for monitoring the phenology of ecologically important native species, to assess changes in the timing of spring across parks, and to collect and apply phenology data to address natural resource management concerns and questions.