Landcare Week 6th-13th September 2010

Landcare Australia is encouraging everyone to become a citizen scientist during Landcare Week.

Every Australian can participate in this Landcare Week activity. Simply register with ClimateWatch and you can monitor, collect and record data that will help shape the Australia’s scientific response to climate change.

Data collected by ClimateWatch will be used by anyone studying the impact of climate change on ecosystems.

ClimateWatch – the unique program where your eyes and ears will help shape Australia’s scientific response to climate change. ClimateWatch is the feature of this year’s Landcare Week, where by collecting and recording information from your own backyard, you will help scientists study the impact of climate change on our ecosystems . Simply register now to become a ClimateWatcher.

Five species to start you off

To start you off five species have been selected as part of Landcare Week; Willy Wagtail, Magpie, Striped Marsh Frog, Ribwort Plantain and Cabbage White Butterfly.

WillieWagtail Australian Magpie Striped Marsh Frog Ribwort Plantain Cabbage White Butterfly

Note: There are over 80 indicator species to observe so you can be sure there will be plenty to look out for in your area.

Search for other species in your region here on the ClimateWatch site under the Species tab: http://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/all

Download the Landcare registration pack

To find out more about each of these species download the Landcare Week Welcome Pack.

Make regular observations

Once you have decided on a species to watch, it’s a good idea to think about how you can make ClimateWatch part of your regular weekly activities and to keep a pen and paper handy – or a ClimateWatch recording sheet – to make a note of your observations on the spot.

Become a volunteer

Looking for a local Landcare Group to volunteer with? Search for a group on the new National Landcare Directory .

Spread the word

Remember to spread the word about ClimateWatch to your friends, family and Landcare groups in your area.  Every Australian can take part in ClimateWatch.

Landcare Groups

If you are a group, please register your Landcare Week activities on the new National Landcare Directory. It will take you 5 minutes to register, the new directory is a terrific opportunity for groups to promote events and activities throughout the year, attract volunteers and promote projects. You can register if you are a landcare, Coastcare, ‘Friends of’, Rivercare, bushcare or Junior Landcare group (includes schools, scouts and other youth groups).

Register Your Landcare Week Event on the National Landcare Directory

Landcare Week Group Promo Kit (Click to view)

The kit includes a few images and tools you and your landcare or coastcare group or a Landcare Australia supporting corporate partner can download to help promote Landcare Week 2010 in your local paper, newsletter, website, facebook page or email.

The kit includes a few images and tools you and your landcare or coastcare group can download to help promote Landcare Week 2010 in your local paper, newsletter, website, facebook page or email.

Landcare Week and ClimateWatch Quick Facts!

  • We are currently losing biodiversity at about 1000 times the ‘normal’ extinction rate. Climate change is accelerating this.
    Scientist: Prof Steve Williams, James Cook University, QLD
  • Birds around the world are breeding earlier. In Australia we are only just starting to find out what is going on.
    Scientists: Dr Lynda Chambers, Bureau of Meteorology, VIC & Prof Steve Williams, James Cook University, QLD
  • Some of Australia’s migratory birds are arriving earlier and leaving later. What’s going on?
    Scientists: Dr Linda Beaumont & Prof Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University, NSW
  • With a change of 1-2 degrees, in Australia’s wet tropics the ‘core habitat’ of most species may decline.  With 2-3 degrees much of the Great Barrier Reef will be bleached annually. With 5 degrees change there will be disruption to all ecosystems and likelihood of mass extinction.
    Scientists: Prof Steve Williams, James Cook University, QLD and Dr Linda Beaumont, Macquarie University, NSW
  • Climate change will alter the distribution of weeds. Weeds that are an issue in the tropical north will also become problematic further south while many of the weeds we currently tackle in more temperate areas will start to disappear.
    Scientist: Prof Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University, NSW
  • In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported there were 29,000 data sets around the world showing how plants and animals were responding to the changing climate. Only 6 were from Australia. We need more data!
    Scientist: Dr Lynda Chambers, Bureau of Meteorology, VIC
  • The distribution of some plants and animals is predicted to shift radically due to climate change.  By the end of the 21st Century, scientists believe species will move hundreds to thousands of kilometres towards the poles or up the mountains. Where will those at the top of mountains go and what about those stranded in isolated nature reserves?
    Scientist: Dr Tim Entwisle, Botanic Gardens Trust, NSW
  • Australia is the most megadiverse developed country and supports almost 10 per cent of the biological diversity on earth.  In some parts of Australia, like the Wet Tropics in Queensland approximately 50% of the species are facing extinction by 2050 through climate change.
    Scientist: Prof Steve Williams, James Cook University, QLD
  • 40% of the world’s food supply is dependent on insect pollinators. In Europe the growing season for many crops is getting earlier every year. The birds and bees don’t always keep up. Is it a problem and what’s going on in Australia?
    Scientist: Dr Tim Entwisle, Botanic Gardens Trust, NSW
  • Over the last 200 years Australia has suffered the largest documented decline in biodiversity of any continent. Despite efforts to manage threats and pressures to biodiversity in Australia, it is still in decline. Climate Change is adding to all the problems we already have. We need a warning system – ClimateWatch.
    Scientist: Prof Steve Williams, James Cook University, QLD
  • Earlier migration and breeding of animals and flowering of plants provide the strongest evidence that species are already responding to climate change.
    Scientists: Dr Linda Beaumont & Prof Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University, NSW
  • So much data from the northern hemisphere, so little down-under. We urgently need to develop our data sets.
    Scientists: Dr Linda Beaumont & Prof Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University, NSW

Other Citizen Scientist Opportunities

  1. ClimateWatch www.climatewatch.org.au
  2. Melbourne Water’s Frog Census (Melbourne region) www.frogs.melbournewater.com.au For other frog surveys see www.frogatlas.com.au
  3. Birds in the Backyard www.birdsinbackyards.net/surveys
  4. Waterwatch www.waterwatch.org.au
  5. RabbitScan www.rabbitscan.net.au
  6. Reef Life Survery www.reeflifesurvey.com Volunteer scuba divers wanted
  7. Earthwatch Australia www.earthwatch.org/australia/expeditions
  8. Barbara Hardy Centre for Sustainable Urban Environment (Adelaide) www.unisa.edu.au/barbarahardy/research/citizen-science.asp
  9. Sear Search (Victoria) www.peopleandparks.org/programs/marine-connections/sea-search.html
  10. REDMAP (Tasmania) Looking for input from scuba divers, recreational and commercial fishers www.redmap.org.au
  11. ECOCEAN Whale Shark Photo-ID Library (international) www.goearthtrek.com
  12. Globe at Night (international) www.globeatnight.org