About FutureGrounds
Understand ecological change. Follow its possible directions.
FutureGrounds is an independent ecological advisory and development practice focused on ecological change. We connect field ecology, complementary observation methods and ecological interpretation so nature projects can follow change over time and use monitoring to support learning and long-term management.
Dynamic ecosystems and natural processes
Ecosystems change through interactions between species, the environment and natural processes such as grazing, hydrology and succession. Describing current conditions is an important starting point, but monitoring should also illuminate variation, relationships and development over time, including when landscapes move in unexpected directions.
A holistic view of nature
Species, habitats and processes are understood in the context of a landscape's history and surroundings. Field ecology, vegetation data, remote sensing and other observations can complement one another and reveal different aspects of nature. Methods are chosen for the ecological questions and scales, not as ends in themselves.
A long-term perspective
Monitoring should generate knowledge that can be revisited and used for learning and management over time. Clear methods, assumptions and uncertainties make it possible to consider new observations alongside earlier ones. Several possible trajectories remain open, allowing expectations and interventions to adapt.
Futures-oriented monitoring
Several futures. Close attention to what is unfolding.
FutureGrounds explores futures-thinking as a way to ask better monitoring questions. What developments can we imagine? Which are plausible given current knowledge? And which do we want to support? These are different questions, and a preferred future is not a forecast. Repeated observations can help us understand which trajectories are taking shape and when expectations or actions need to be reconsidered.
Conceptual inspiration: Cork et al. (2023) explore alternative futures and the Futures Cone. Here, this thinking offers an open perspective on learning, rather than a model that predicts a landscape's future.
Exploring Alternative Futures in the Anthropocene