Nearly every aspect of our lives is fundamentally tied to the land on which we live. Documenting what is on the land (land cover) is important for many areas of critical science studied by NASA scientists and others, including hazard analysis for floods, fires and landslides, mapping wildlife habitat, and tracking the impacts of climate change. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program invites you to take part in our upcoming Land Cover Challenge: “Land Cover in a Changing Climate.”

The photos you take using The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer app document the current land cover and may also show evidence of land cover or land use change in the area. We especially encourage you to look for places you know have changed (or where you know change is coming), and put any information about the reasons or timing for that change in the field notes section. While existing land cover databases (such as the 50-year record from the Landsat satellite) may be able to indicate where change is happening, they don’t always include the reasons why those changes occurred, so any local, on-the-ground knowledge you share with us can be especially helpful.

How to participate:
1. Download the GLOBE Observer app and register an account.
2. Take photos of the landscape around you using the Land Cover tool. (Remember to always be safe and follow local guidelines when observing.)
3. Comment in the field notes about any changes you know have occurred in the area you photographed, or changes you know are planned.

While you are welcome to continue to the next part of the app to classify the land cover you have photographed, the photos themselves and the field notes are the most important aspects of this challenge.