Global: EarthCollective is proud to be able to celebrate Earth Day with the launch of the new eyes4earth website.  The website features a new interface, interactive mapping, online survey, flickr images, weblog, twitter as well as new updates and plenty of background information aimed at connecting the science of sustainability with society.

“eyes4earth as an initiative was first launched on this day back in 2006” explains coordinator Matthew Zylstra. “Back then it was primarily driven by the ‘What did nature do for you today initiative?’ which was focused on providing communication and outreach for the concept of ‘ecosystem services’.”

eyes4earth 2010 has now evolved from purely focusing on how people perceive ecosystem services to including how people are reconnecting to biodiversity nature through meaningful nature experience.

“A primary focus of this new website – and eyes4earth in general –  is to link ecosystem services, biodiversity and climate change through people’s personal and meaningful experience.” explains Matthew.  “Stories are an ideal way of doing this and something we can all relate to. In this International Year of Biodiversity we feel it’s critical to allow people the opportunity to tell us about the powerful and unusual encounters they have had with wildlife of all shapes and sizes.  People resonate with that kind of thing.  So we’re doing that through the ‘Where’s my Whale?’ theme.  Ultimately, it’s about understanding how people find themselves re-connecting to nature through direct and meaningful experience …”

eyes4earth acts as a two-way communication channel for current transdisciplinary research on human-biodiversity interactions (being carried out with Stellenbosch University & the TsamaHUB). The current PhD research is primarily gaining insights into people’s perceptions of ‘meaningful nature experiences’ (e.g. peak nature experiences and synchronistic wildlife encounters) and how learning derived from such events can be better integrated into education programmes for sustainability. The research is also assessing how exotic weeds and pests (e.g. invasive alien plant and animal species) are perceived to affect meaningful nature and wilderness experience. A further aim is to investigate how environmental education may shape such perceptions and what strategies can be employed to facilitate a more.