ACCLIMATISE: a message about change to inspire change

The average global temperature continues to climb

The environment changes in very little time

Ecosystems are altered, animals lose habitat

We have an increasing sense of dread at we watch the thermostat

Less rain, more heat, and weather events are more extreme

Looking at the IPCC report, doom & gloomy it will seem

But the ACCLIMATISE events have given us hope

With the great work people are doing, Earth just might cope

More droughts and bushfires, temperatures rise

To protect the planet, we need to ACCLIMATISE

The Anthropocene is here. Earth’s systems are changing like never before – to the point where geologists have defined a new epoch of time and named it after the cause: human activity.

But it’s not too late to change the trajectory of climate change. Climate scientists make predictions about average global temperatures, sea levels, etc. and all of their graphs have multiple paths, knowing that the extent of the damage to Earth is dependent on us and whether we do anything about it.

I wrote this choral piece to highlight environmental changes that are already happening so that it might spark change among people. It touches on the melting ice sheaths of Antarctica, the burning Australian bush, and shifting coastlines that impact coastal towns.

For these three places, it’s certainly not all bad news. There are many incredible scientists working towards solutions. They just need more support to put their ideas into action.

The Royal Society of Victoria presented ACCLIMATISE as part of the Inspiring Victoria program. Because of it, I met incredible scientists that I met who have shown me that we can make a difference.

Professor Patrick Baker is studying how to make Australian forests more resilient to bush fires. Ecologists like Professor Brendan Wintle advocates for funds to support conservation programs that fight the extinction crisis. A/Prof David Kennedy’s 2021 Howitt Lecture on coastal resilience demonstrated how sands can shift to push back against the waves.

So let’s get the message out there!

By Catriona Nguyen-Robertson