Be a Gardenwise Weather Watcher

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Gardening and weather go hand in hand. We monitor rainfall, frosts and of course the temperatures. These all influence when we plant, harvest and what plants we can grow. Now you can take this interest one step further and volunteer to be part of a network of volunteer weather watchers.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a non-profit community based network of volunteers that provides daily measurements of rain, hail and snow that fall in their backyards.

The goal of the Network is to provide more localized weather information to scientists, researchers, resource managers, decision makers and more.

Volunteers receive training and use high quality rain gauges to take measurements.

All you need is a few minutes a day and an interest in the weather. For more details visit their website at cocorahs.org.

A bit more information: Weather watching is a great way to learn more about the world around us. Make this a family activity. Or if you are a teacher or know one, consider getting your classroom involved. CoCoRaHS is in the process of developing classroom materials for teachers.

For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com.