Harvest Windows

Together with the North Fork Mono tribe, Shelly-Davis King and Associates, and The California Academy of Sciences, the Harvest window project braids Traditional Phenological Knowledge of plants with herbarium specimens to explore the direction, drivers, and consequences of phenological shifts associated with anthropogenic change. On this project we are working together to conduct innovative braided science research, celebrate the interconnectedness of species and eco-cultural systems, integrate TPK/TPK into botanical and archaeological surveys.

Specific members:

Chairman Ron Goode

Christina Oraftik

Shelly Davis-King

Timeline:

May 2026: Society for American Archaeology Meeting (talk). Ancestral Harvests, Future Resilience: Indigenous Knowledge and Herbarium Science to Reveal Human-Plant Relationships, Phenology, and Climate Impacts in Archaeology

March 2026: Society for California Archaeology Meeting (talk). Deep Roots, Changing Seasons: Indigenous Phenological Knowledge & Herbarium Insights in California Archaeology

February 2026: Shannon and Becky participate in a cultural burn hosted by Chairman Goode with assistance form Christina Oraftik in Mariposa.

February 2026: California Native Plant Society Meeting (poster). Phenology Windows: a Holistic Approach to Studying Phenological Change.

November 2025:

Sarah and Becky participate in a cultural burn hosted by Chairman Goode with assistance form Christina Oraftik in Mariposa.
Shelly and Becky attend the preview of the Good Fire: Tending Native Lands exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California. Chairman Goode is a collaborator on the exhibit.

Fall 2025: project initiation.

Spring 2024: Shannon, Becky, Shelly, and Sarah attend the Native Gatherers Climate Change Convening, hosted by the Exploratorium, the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and the California Academy of Sciences. The convening featured a group of Native Gatherers who shared their experiences and observations of how access, quality, and abundance of plant resources have changed over time.