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 Why are we doing this??
The Climate Change Connection You may have heard about climate change either through school, the newspapers or television. Scientists tell us that the Earth's climate has been getting warmer and warmer and that this is in part the result of things that we do such as burning fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal). We burn fossil fuels when we drive around in cars or buses and when we manufacture things in a factory. Most of us also burn fossil fuels when we heat our houses. These activities create what are called 'greenhouse gases'. They are called this because when they mix in the atmosphere, they make the atmosphere behave like a huge greenhouse, trapping the heat from the sun and keeping the planet warm. We need some of these gases to be up there because without them the heat from the sun would escape from Earth and we would all be very cold indeed! However, too much of these gases are now up there in the atmosphere and this means the climate is getting warmer. What we don't know so much about is what this warming will mean for us, for our plants and wildlife, and for the planet as a whole. If the climate continues to warm up, some of us will get hotter summers but much colder winters; others will get much wetter weather and some will get lots of bad storms like thunderstorms and tornadoes. We do know that when the climate changes, plants and animals need to change as well or they won't survive. This is called adaptation. If the climate changes slowly, many plants and animals can adapt. If the climate changes too quickly, many might not be able to adapt soon enough. For example if the summers get hotter and drier, frogs and toads will find it very hard to survive as the ponds they depend upon for breeding will dry up. If the winters get too cold without enough snow cover, small animals like mice and shrews won't be able to survive. So we need to know more about what is happening to our plants and wildlife as the climate is getting warmer - having lots of information will help us find out what we can do to slow down climate change and cope with the changes that are already occurring. Finding out more about what is happening, therefore, is the purpose of the Thousand Eyes project.  By observing, recording and then studying any changes in plant or animal behaviour (phenology), and then looking at weather data, we can learn a lot about climate change. Scientists need lots of facts about plants, wildlife and the weather so that they can understand what climate change means. So this is your chance to find some facts for our scientists! The only things you need are a pair of sharp eyes, time in the great outdoors, and access to a computer.
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