Eyes on Australian Forests

Involved organisations: 

Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC); University of SA; Australian Space Data Analysis Facility (ASDAF)

Project overview:

Forests are vital to our environment, but are under constant risk from bushfires, drought and flooding. Understanding forest health often requires specialised knowledge and access to space data, which can be challenging for the community members who wish to take active roles in environmental conservation. This concern highlights the necessity for tools which democratise access to Earth Observation and environmental monitoring.

Developed by ASDAF in collaboration with SSTC and UniSA STEM researchers, the Eyes on Australian Forests tool addresses a significant need by empowering specialist users who lack extensive programming experience or familiarity with APIs. It enables them to easily access, visualise, and analyse multispectral space-based imagery. By leveraging freely accessible Australian satellite data, the tool facilitates the extraction of critical vegetation health metrics, such as the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and Normalised Burn Ratio (NBR). These indices can provide valuable insights into forest health and help detect early signs of stress from environmental factors such as drought or fire. The tool’s ability to integrate data from multiple satellite sources enhances the temporal and spatial coverage of forest imagery across Australia, making it a powerful resource for environmental monitoring and conservation efforts.

One-day Workshop:

We hosted a one-day workshop, delivered by Calvin Pang (CIDS/ASDAF) and Eriita Jones (SSTC) with assistance from Leigh Tyers (CIDS/ASDAF) showcased Eye’s on Australian Forests to the community. 

The workshop introduced the basics of Earth Observation and the current landscape regarding data accessibility with practical applications such as forest water and health monitoring and bushfire risk and prevention. Participants of the workshop included members from local councils, environmental groups, schools, universities, and industry. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive, with many commending the ease of use of the platform in demonstrating the capacity of Earth Observation data and its benefits for general learning and education.