Spotted a new plant or animal in your area? Or maybe seeing less and less of another?
No, you're not going mad. Across the world, species are moving, shifting their ranges to stay in places where they can survive as the climate crisis deepens. Some are moving quickly, some moving slowly. Some will succeed. Some...not so much.
For many of us, especially in the richer nations, climate change is something that feels remote. Sure, maybe the summers are hotter. Maybe we can't water our gardens as much as we used to. Maybe we grumble when the litchis are a bit bitter and more expensive because production is way down.
(Ok, the last was a bit of a specific reference, but it's something happening this year in La Réunion, where I'm currently living).
When climate change seems something that's far from us, we're less likely to do anything about it. But those plants and animals moving in and out of our local areas? That's right in our backyard. In fact, Dr Greta Pecl (University of Tasmania) and colleagues reckon that these species on the move can be an amazing opportunity to connect people with nature and climate change, and, hopefully, help prompt positive action.
Climate-driven changes in species distributions represent opportunities for communication on climate change using frames that connect to a range of human values and emotions. Credit: Pecl et al. (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
Of course, the people who are most likely to notice these species on the move and arguably be most curious about what is happening are people who already have some connection with nature. Bird watchers, nature lovers, but also fishers and farmers, for example. But the reach could be further.
Imagine your favourite locally caught fish is moving away from your area to escape warming waters. You'll probably see the price of that fish rising before you don't see it for sale anymore. You'll probably grumble about inflation. You probably won't grumble about the lack of political action on climate change that is causing the ocean to warm and your tasty fish to head off to a cooler place because you don't even know it's an issue. How would you? It's never come up in conversation.
We know that knowledge in itself won't solve the problem for us. Having these conversations won't immediately spur everyone into action. But they are the start, one of many seeds that might just, together, lead to something great.
Curious to know more?
Read the open access research paper Pecl, G. T., Kelly, R., Lucas, C., van Putten, I., Badhe, R., Champion, C., ... & Verges, A. (2023). Climate‐driven ‘species‐on‐the‐move’ provide tangible anchors to engage the public on climate change. People and Nature, 5(5), 1384-1402. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10495