The 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, and climate adaptation projects. 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.

CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORY NETWORK (CCON)

Momentum Conservation’s CCON is made up of environmental organizations and community partners who are on the front lines of responding to climate change in communities throughout Maine. They are preserving vulnerable ecosystems and habitats, restoring natural landscapes to enhance community resilience, and providing educational opportunities to increase knowledge and support for climate action.

CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORY PROJECTS (CCO)

The cooperative nature of the CCON program comes from Momentum Conservation’s overarching role to provide organizations access to a larger network that can offer more support, resources and solutions to overcoming challenges they may be faced with working on their own.

Momentum Conservation partners with environmental organizations to develop Climate Change Observatory (CCO) projects. CCO project sites harness the power of citizen science through the use of crowdsourced picture post monitoring. Picture post monitoring is a means of monitoring and documenting environmental changes occurring over time by taking a photo at a fixed location at regular intervals. These photographic observations help monitor, document and measure changes in the local landscape.

Each CCO project site consists of a picture post, a bracket, an instructional sign and utilizes the chronolog platform for advanced video time lapse technology and interactive communications.

 

View the Town of Farmington, Atlantic Salmon Federation and USFWS’s river restoration CCO project site at Walton’s Mill Park.

View The Friends of Scarborough Marsh’s CCO project monitoring sites at Scarborough Marsh.

Scroll down further to see more CCO projects.

When a volunteer visits a CCO site, they follow three simple steps by putting their mobile device on a bracket, taking a photo, and uploading it to the chronolog platform via email (No App is required). Chronolog than instantly integrates the photo into a time lapse video by stitching it together with other crowdsourced photos taken at the site. An automated response email is then sent back to the volunteer, with the time lapse video they just contributed to, along with information about the project site, the organization that stewards the property, and other pertinent information (ex. educational resources, volunteer sign up form). Social links are also provided and used to encourage others to participate and learn. This shared information can help equip communities with a better understanding of the issues at play, aid with conversations and education around different adaptation strategies, and bring about more awareness and support for potential on-the-ground actions.

CCO Projects In Our Communities

The chronolog platform provides a national publicly accessible online portal that hosts the CCO projects*, whereby environmental organizations, community stakeholders, researches, citizen scientists and the public at large can view the time lapse and use the information to better understand how climate impacts (like, flooding, beach erosion, storm surge, sea level rise, droughts) are affecting our communities, and gain awareness and insight about actions being undertaken to help restore a landscape and adapt to climate change threats (like river restoration, rewilding, invasive species management, living shoreline techniques). Improving our collective understanding of changes occurring in our communities can spark conversations and encourage climate change study, provide information to aid with adaptive management, and help improve support for climate action.

*Unique embed codes and project links to the CCO projects are also provided to organization’s and larger educational portal/hubs to use on their websites and communication outreach. View Maine CCO sites on Chronolog’s Interactive Map.

Hover over and Click on the tabs below to view Climate Change Observatory (CCO) project site examples.

 

Each CCO project is unique to the local context, geography, and the changes being experienced in that area. Projects are varied and can range from monitoring and documenting sea level rise, flooding, beach erosion and accretion, storm surge and the effects of the ocean on the wetland complex, king tides, marsh migration, algal bloom, water levels, vegetation changes, invasive species, rewilding, changes in land use over time, living shorelines (impacts and survivability), river restoration (dam removal), and other climate adaptation projects.

Restoration | Rewilding | Invasive Species

Sea Level Rise | Storm Surge | Erosion

River Restoration | Dam Removal | Biodiversity

Water levels | Droughts | Flooding

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

Interested in being a part of the growing Climate Change Observatory Network?

Have a potential Climate Change Observatory project site you would like to discuss? We would welcome your interest, please get in touch.

Read and learn some of the ways youth have been getting involved in the CCON and contributing to the CCON’s OUTLOOK blog.

Outlook explores variables that shape and influence individuals relationships with nature and how they seek to inspire, adapt and reimagine what conservation can look like moving forward in a world where Climate Change is affecting a broad range of human and natural systems. If you are interested in contributing, please get in touch.

 

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS

Interested in participating as a citizen scientist?

The CCON encourages everyone to participate! The photos collected and processed into a time lapse video at each CCO site provides important local data for community stakeholders to use to help make more informed decisions to better prepare for and respond to disturbances related to climate. Watch this video to learn how simple it is to participate.  Find a CCO site, contribute photos, learn about the area you are helping monitor and the changes taking place. Encourage others to participate, support the organization stewarding the property and know that your contributions and climate actions are helping your community build more climate resilience*.

*Climate resilience: the ability to buffer, adjust, and continue in response to external forces or shocks.

Click on a point in the map below to learn more about a CCO site.

BECOME A CLIMATE CHANGE OBSERVATORY NETWORK SUPPORTER

Your support will allow us to continue to expand the Climate Change Observatory Network, build stronger community partnerships, fuel research, create educational opportunities, and provide spaces for people to connect and share experiences in order to help build more climate resilient communities together. Please reach out to us to discuss opportunities or help support our work by making a donation below.

“Nobody’s going to fix the world for us, but working together, making use of technological innovations and human communities alike, we might just be able to fix it ourselves.”

Jamais Cascio (Author)