Go Global

Go Global is a network of one-hectare plots, which demonstrate the effectiveness of local monitoring and reporting of environmental change in long-term forest biodiversity monitoring programs.

ACER and its community partners monitor and report changes in one-hectare forest plots representative of regional ecosystems by trained volunteers using Smithsonian / Environment Canada protocols.

Twelve one-hectare plots along Southern Ontario’s escarpment were inventoried and measured in according Smitsonian’s international forest research protocols.  This project began in 1996, and we have a database that plots the data collected then.

ACER is currently establishing 2 new hectares in collaboration with the Niagara Parks Commission and Climate Action Niagara, as part of “Yes, We CAN” project.

The Niagara Project has begun with primary funding from Earth Day Canada/Sobey’s. Our partners are Climate Action Niagara, Niagara Parks Commission and Scouts Canada. This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of local monitoring and reporting of environmental change in long-term schoolyard planting and forest monitoring programs. The Niagara Project extends ACER’s Ontario “ Measuring our Resources and Planting for Change” school sites and “Go Global” community forest research plot program.

Paradise Grove Park presents a unique opportunity in black-oak savanna forest in one-hectare plots to compare the effects of a controlled burn on biodiversity.

These activities involve the community in understanding the consequences of climate change and human impact on our ecosystems and enable comparison with global forests. See www.canadabiodiversity.ca where 6 of 14 science posters include ACER’s work.

Resources:

Go Global Steps
Go Global Steps (Spanish Version – Pasos para el establecimiento de una parcela)
Role Cards
Role Cards (Spanish Version – Tarjetas de Actividades)

Related Publications:

Posters
Biological Threats to Biodiversity
M. B. Karsh, A. Casselman, D. C. Maciver, S. Fung & H. Auld

SI/MAB Paired Forest Monitoring Plots
A. Casselman