Messages from Our Director
A space for reflections, insights, and thoughts on climate change and the world we share.
From the heart of Nurtureland, these messages invite you to pause, reflect, and journey with us toward a brighter, harmonious future.
Director’s Message: Victoria’s Changing Climate
At Nurtureland, we are deeply committed to understanding and responding to the changes in our environment. Findings from the Victoria’s Climate Science Report 2024 make it clear that Victoria’s climate is already changing.
https://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/victorias-changing-climate
The evidence is undeniable. Global temperatures are rising, sea levels continue to climb, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Here in Victoria, we are seeing these impacts firsthand. Since the 19th century, our state has warmed significantly, rainfall patterns have shifted, and climate hazards such as bushfires, floods, and heatwaves are becoming more intense.
The report highlights some of these observed changes to 2024:
- Average annual temperature has increased by 1.2°C since 1910.
- Heatwaves are becoming longer, more intense, and more frequent.
- Very hot days have more than doubled since 1986–2005.
- Bushfire frequency and severity have increased.
- Rainfall patterns are changing, with cool season rainfall declining by over 10%.
- Snow depth and cover in alpine regions have decreased since the late 1950s.
These changes remind us that climate change is already here, reshaping the way we live, work, and care for our environment. Through choices such as embracing vegetarianism and reducing waste, we can support sustainable growth, and help protect the future of our communities and natural landscapes.
Together, we can make a difference in how Victoria adapts to a changing climate.
Director’s Message: Listening to the Earth’s Warnings
As we move into the cooler months, many of us have likely noticed the warmth still lingering in the air. Even now, in May, Australia is experiencing unusually high temperatures and dry conditions across much of the southern half of the country. A recent article titled “It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot?” shed light on this phenomenon—explaining how persistent atmospheric patterns and the clear signals of human-caused climate change are influencing our seasons more than ever.
We find this a sobering but important reminder. The article points to record-breaking warmth in parts of Victoria and Tasmania, and even heat-stressed oceans around our coastlines. These changes are not distant or abstract—they are happening here and now, and they affect the ecosystems we rely on, the food we grow, and the rhythms of daily life.
At Nurtureland, our mission has always been to live more harmoniously with nature—to learn from it, care for it, and in turn, let it care for us. This unusual weather reinforces why our collective choices matter. Embracing a plant-based lifestyle, reducing our footprint, and educating our children with environmental awareness are no longer just good ideas—they are necessary.
We encourage you to read the article, reflect with your families, and think about what small steps we can take together. The earth is speaking; may we continue to listen, respond with care, and walk gently on this shared path.
Director’s Message
January-September 2024 was 1.54±0.13°C above the pre-industrial average.
Following a prolonged La Niña, which is typically associated with a temporary reduction in global temperatures, from late 2020 to the early months of 2023, a strong El Nino event boosted global temperature to record observed levels later in 2023 and through 2024. For 16 consecutive months (June 2023 to September 2024), the global mean exceeded anything recorded before 2023 and often by a wide margin. 2023 and 2024 will be the two warmest years on record, with the latter being on track to be the warmest, making the past 10 years, 2015 to 2024, the warmest ten years in the 175-year observational record.
Vegetarianism plays a significant role in addressing global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a large share of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which are more potent than carbon dioxide. By shifting to a plant-based diet, individuals can lower the demand for meat and dairy, thereby decreasing the environmental impact associated with animal farming. Additionally, plant-based agriculture generally requires less land, water, and energy, further mitigating deforestation, habitat loss, and resource depletion. Adopting vegetarianism can thus contribute to a more sustainable and climate-resilient food system, helping to combat global warming.
Director’s Message
Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.
Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.
The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.
Director’s Message
World breaks hottest day record again, despite El Nino’s end
As heatwaves sizzled around the world and wildfires engulfed parts of the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada, the global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius on Monday (Jul 22). That was 0.06 degrees Celsius higher than Sunday’s record according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such data since 1940.
Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University in Germany, said it was “remarkable” that the record had been breached again now with the world well into the neutral phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
Animal agriculture produces 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions which has a global warming impact 296 times greater than carbon dioxide.
(https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2022/03/15/it-may-be-uncomfortable-we-need-talk-about-it-animal-agriculture-industry-and-zero-waste)