The most sophisticated computer models in the world have a hard time predicting the exact consequences of climate change. With every passing winter, voices from the media shout that climate change isn't real. How can the world be getting warmer? It snowed! In January!
But there is a way to directly document the changes to our world, and it depends on you. Well, on you... and you... and you and you and you.
Throughout history, people have noted the dates of natural events -- the blooming of cherry trees, the first daffodil to poke out from under the slushy ground, the return of familiar birds, animals, and insects. For more than a century now, people have been collecting these dates regularly. It's called Phenology, and it's one way that regular people everywhere can record the impact of changes to our world without even owning a lab coat.
For this group, I intend to offer regular observations of my own neighborhood, and a place to report the changes that you're seeing. Don't restrict yourself to first frosts and changing leafs. Report that odd beetle you saw (there are enough entomologists around here that there's a very good chance someone can help you identify it), mention the fox in your front yard, the box turtle that struggled across your drive, and even the giant millipede that invaded your shower. Taken individually, these observations may have little value (though they're often interesting starts for a conversation). Taken together we can build up an image of the world that has real value, both now and for the future.
Open your eyes, start taking notes, and just consider this a convenient place to dump anything in nature that gets your attention.