Category: CCON

Oceanside Conservation Trust Climate Change Observatory Sites

Oceanside Conservation Trust of Casco Bay (OCT) is part of the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative’s Climate Change Observatory Network. OCT has installed a Climate Change Observatory (CCO) site on Long Island, Little Diamond Island and Cliff Island. Crowdsourced photos taken by community members, visitors and stewards at each of the CCO photo monitoring post locations are instantly integrated into the sites time lapse video to help monitor environmental changes that occur over time and to assist with the observation, measurement and documentation of long-term climate change trends in our communities.

King Middle School Deering Oaks Restoration Project

King Middle School students are the stewards of a portion of Deering Oaks Park in Portland, ME. Since 2016, King students have dedicated their time and focused their learning towards helping to restore the park to a native Maine ecosystem. Through the planting and maintenance of native species, King students are creating an ecosystem that hosts wildlife, educating the public and building a long term data set to monitor the health of the ecosystem. All of this work is accomplished through collaboration with local organizations and experts including: Maine Audubon; Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative; Friends of Deering Oaks; and US Fish & Wildlife.

Press Release: King Middle School To Join In Sign Unveiling

Press Herald / The Forecaster: School Notebook Dec. 1, 2021

About King Middle School

King Middle School’s mission is to awaken our students to the possibilities around them, as leaders in their own learning. To instill a sense of wonder and personal agency that can only be achieved through the exploration of real-world challenges and their potential solutions. To accept students as they are, and in so doing, encourage them to discover their best selves.

King Middle School is part of the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative Climate Change Observatory Network, a photo monitoring program designed to work with environmental organizations and communities to assist with the observation, measurement and documentation of long-term climate change trends.

Telling Stories about Climate Change: Climate Change Observatory Network

Click on the image below to watch the NEEF – National Environmental Education Foundation Educational Week event featuring guest speaker,Ky Wildermuth, co-creator of the Chronolog. The Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative has partnered with Chronolog to provide the Climate Change Observatory Network a participatory resource tool that is used at each Climate Change Observatory project site to help tell stories about environmental changes occurring over time. Chronolog is used to create crowd-sourced time lapses that monitor the environment and engage communities in science.

The Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative (SMCC)  Climate Change Observatory Network (CCON) is a photo monitoring program designed to work with environmental organizations and communities to assist with the observation, measurement and documentation of long-term climate change trends. Using participatory tools and collaborative partnerships, the program brings people with various perspectives and knowledge together to co-learn about climate change and adaptation. The CCON encourages participation in climate change study, develops an interest and community ownership in climate action, and inspires collaboration amongst community stakeholders to develop adaptation strategies and solutions.

SMCC partners with environmental organizations, municipalities, universities, schools and other community stakeholders to build out Climate Change Observatory (CCO) project sites. Each CCO project site is unique to the local context, geography, and the changes being experienced in that area. CCO project sites document a range of observations including erosion and sea level rise, storm surge and the effects of the ocean on the wetland complex, marsh migration, water levels, vegetation changes, changes in land use over time, restoration efforts: native plants/re-wilding, invasive species management and more.

Contact the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative if you are interested in being part of the Climate Change Observatory Network in Maine.