Transcript ClimateWatch - Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre

October 9, 2013
Presented by:
Kristine Nga
Program Manager, ClimateWatch
Earthwatch Institute (Australia)
Earthwatch Mission
Engages people, worldwide, in scientific research and
education to promote the understanding and action
necessary for a sustainable environment.
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ClimateWatch
Earthwatch Methodology
Work in partnership to:
• support independent, peer-reviewed scientific research
• engage people in hands-on field research within rigorously
designed, scientifically validated, procedures
• promote science-based conservation and sustainable management
practices
• engage, inspire and motivate action resulting in changed behaviours
for a sustainable planet
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ClimateWatch
Government
Agencies
Earthwatch
Community
Volunteers
Professional
Associations
Public donors
Corporate
Educational
Institutions &
organisations
Philanthropy
Scientists
Financial
supporters
Corporate
volunteers
Universities
Researchers
Statutory Bodies
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ClimateWatch
Citizen Science – what is it?
The systematic collection and analysis of
data; development of technology; testing of
natural phenomena; and the dissemination
of these activities by researchers on a
primarily avocational basis.
Source: Atlas of Living Australia
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ClimateWatch
ClimateWatch
ClimateWatch allows every Australian to help shape our country’s scientific
response to climate change.
It utilises the study of phenology to engage citizen scientists to help collect
data on Australian flora and fauna.
• What is it? – which species
• Where was it? – location it was seen
• When was it there? – date of the observation
• How was it behaving? – nesting, flowering, calling
Photo 1 Here
2.4” x 3.46”
Hibbertia hypericiodes
(Native Buttercup)
Photo 2Here
2.4” x 3.46”
Male Malurus splendens
(Splendid Fairy-wren)
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ClimateWatch
IPCC 4th Assessment Report (2007)*
ANZ submitted only 6
physical studies out of
total 29,000 datasets and
no continental biological
studies.
*Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability) to be released in
March 2014
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ClimateWatch
Phenology
The study of periodic plant and animal life cycles events and how these are
influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.
×
×
First flowering
×
Full flowering
Time
End of flowering
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Shift in timing?
Earlier
×
×
×
×
Time
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Why monitor these species?
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Photo 1 Here
2.4” x 3.46”
Photo 2Here
2.4” x 3.46”
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ClimateWatch
Species Field Guide
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ClimateWatch trails
Species/How Many/Behaviour/Comments
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How to record using mobile app
Download iPhone app (iTunes store) &
Android (Google Play store) now
• Sign into account
• Select species
• Species info provided
• Record sighting
• GPS and date/time recorded
• Ability to take a photo
• Phenophases are loaded
automatically for each species
• Sightings are synced to web
account and can edit on website
*Requires 3G or wifi, but will store
sightings for later if in poor reception
area
ClimateWatch
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Entering data on website
• Similar to mobile app,
type in species name
and species fields
automatically loaded.
• Use address locater to
pinpoint location or
type in GPS
coordinates.
• If site is
frequented often
(i.e. backyard),
save as ‘My
location’ for next
time.
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ClimateWatch
Current work
ClimateWatch has partnered with Royal Botanic Gardens, Scouts,
universities, EECs, MDCs, and corporate sponsors to deliver the program.
• 10 universities , totaling xx students
• 50+ trails
• Over 45,000 sightings and over 9500 users
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Snapshot: University partnerships
Case 1: University of Western Australia Pilot 2011-2012
• Objective: Teach students about species identification , climate change and
importance of citizen science in collecting reliable data
• Outcome
• Species identification
• Experimental design
• Data collection and analysis, map-making
• Learned about the impact of climate change on biodiversity
• Writing peer-reviewed journal articles (Available online: http://cygnusbiologystudentjournal.wikispaces.com/Journal+Home
Case 2: Australian National University 2013
• Objective: Teach students about the impact of climate change on Australian
biodiversity.
• Outcome
• Species identification
• Data collection
• Research
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Citizen science capacity building
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Where does the data go?
Raw data
collected by
citizen
scientists
Filtered and
validated by
ClimateWatch
Validated data
made publicly
available on the
Atlas of Living
Australia database
Data is then used
by scientists and
researchers to help
inform policymakers about
conservation and
environmental
priorities.
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ClimateWatch
Kristine Nga
Program Manager, ClimateWatch
Earthwatch Institute (Australia)
[email protected]
Program Partners
Founding sponsor
Principal sponsor
Marine Sponsor
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ClimateWatch