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What is the Thousand Eyes Project?
Very simply, the project is about the observation and recording
of certain natural history events such as plants flowering, birds
returning from wintering grounds, frogs peeping, and weather events.
You will learn more about Thousand Eyes as you read through this
introduction.
 Before
we move on, did you know:
- Lots of
people collect and write down information about birds, animals,
insects, plants, and the weather.
- Some of
these people are scientists and have specialised training in
these subjects.
- Others
are called naturalists and these are usually people who enjoy
being outdoors looking for certain things such as birds or plants.
Naturalists might be trained scientists or they might be ordinary
folk like you and me.
- Farmers
collect and write down information too so that they can plan
where and when to plant their crops, and when to harvest them.
- Fisherfolk
look closely at the weather and tides in order to make decisions
about whether it is safe to go out to sea.
- And we
all make observations about one aspect of nature or another
at different times; we might look out the window to check on
whether that winter storm is starting before we decide to go
outside, or we might look for dandelions in the lawn as a sign
that spring has arrived.
- When information
such as when and where you first heard the spring peeper in
2001 is recorded, this is called phenology.
So phenology is the study of the timing of things that happen
over and over again in nature.
The Thousand Eyes Project is all about observing and recording
when and where specific natural things appear or happen in Nova
Scotia. There are 50 observations
in total that the project is interested in. The project needs
lots and lots of people (watchers) out there making these observations
and then recording them on this website.
Connecting to the Past
The Thousand Eyes project is modelled after a similar program
that ran here in Nova Scotia a hundred years ago! Between 1900
and 1923, hundreds of schools and students took part in a similar
phenology project - only these students recorded over 200 different
events! This was supervised by a gentleman called Dr. Alexander
MacKay. So your observations can be compared to those made by
students a hundred or so years ago - this is important for today's
scientists. Once you have made your observations and recorded
them on this website, scientists can see if the actual timing
of natural events has changed from a hundred years ago - for example,
does the hummingbird come back sooner or later than it did a hundred
years ago? Does the spring peeper call earlier or later? Do the
maple trees flower at the same time? You see, all these things
are determined to a degree by the climate and if the climate has
changed, then we might expect that the timing of the natural events
has changed too. By taking part in this project you are actually
helping scientists do their work on climate change ... and maybe
even helping to save some plants and animals from disappearing.
 What
will watchers do?
Watchers will observe when certain things change in the natural
environment - things like plants flowering for the first time
in spring, birds returning from their winter holidays, butterflies
emerging from their chrysalides, and weather events like thunderstorms.
The watchers will then enter their observations on this website
- it's as easy as that! When you register you will be given help
in understanding how to observe and record your findings.
When and where do we collect information?
Spring, Summer and Autumn are the best times to make the natural
history observations for the Thousand Eyes project. Most birds
leave Nova Scotia in the winter and go to warmer places, and plants
shut down for the winter--which makes it easy to observe when
the birds come back and when the plants wake up! You can make
your observations in your back garden, on your way to school or
other activities, in the school yard, at your cottage - even at
your grandma's house! Anywhere that you go regularly in fact.
If we can gather our observations for a few years, scientists
- and you! - can compare these to those collected a hundred years
ago. The story that develops from this comparison might help us
understand climate change more and give us clues as to what needs
to be done about it.
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