About Earthwatch Institute
Earthwatch Institure was established in 1971. Earthwatch is a leading international not-for-profit environmental research organisation committed to promoting the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.
At the core of Earthwatch’s work is our scientific research program. Large scale data gathering has been identified as a high priority if we are to understand, predict and minimise the effects of climate change on biodiversity. This is particularly important in Australia where the combination of unique flora and fauna occupying a low lying, fragmented landscape could result in extinction rates up to 50% due to climate change in some areas.
The scale of the data collection task required suggests that success is only possible through multi-sector input and an approach that engages the community in the scientific process.
In response to this challenge, Earthwatch Australia, in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, the University of Melbourne and Land & Water Australia, has developed ClimateWatch to assist scientists, policy makers and land managers to gather, store and analyse the vast amount of data needed to understand climate change impacts with the help from the general public.
What you can do
ClimateWatch allows you to get hands-on in understanding the science of climate change. Your role as a registered ClimateWatch user will be to keep an eye out for selected plant and indicator species and their behaviour throughout the year.
By observing the timing of natural events (the study of phenology), such as the budding of flowers, falling of leaves and the appearance of migratory birds, the data you collect will help shape the country’s scientific response to climate change.
The first project of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, ClimateWatch will become a leading online database for environmental scientists studying the effects of climate change.
You can get involved in ClimateWatch by registering and observing our selected plant and animal indicators and submitting these records online.
For more information on what to look out for and when to start looking, visit our plant and animals fact sheets. To see how your data is helping shape our understanding of these changes, view our maps .
Register online and start recording the changes you see in the world.