Project: iSeeChange: The Almanac

For decades, anyone who relies on the weather for a living has depended on almanacs, those annual calendars with weather statistics and tables, to roughly predict the current weather. But with climate change making patterns harder and harder to suss, a new project called iSeeChange wants you to help document what’s going on to create a living almanac.

Started by Julia Kumari Drapkin at the Colorado public station KVNF, the project is going nation wide, and is designed to combine citizen science, public media, and satellite and sensor monitoring of environmental conditions. Specifically, the project is joining forces with the NASA mission Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, to provide “ground truth” or ground-level observations in conjunction with satellite measurements of CO2 levels.

“Combining these two perspectives—a global view of the earth from space and a granular view from individuals on the ground—offers an unprecedented opportunity to match big science with daily life, and surface hidden patterns and stories.”

To participate, you simply need to create a login for the site, and post what you have noticed going on in your area. This might be an observation about the arrival of the first dandelions being very early, or the fact that you have noticed several bird species overwintering that never have before. You could also write about what’s thriving or not in your garden, how the local frog and toad population seems to be faring, and so on.

The site has a trailer on the Get Involved page that helps to illustrate the project’s purpose. For more information, you can also contact Julia at iseechange@kvnf.org.