Waterloo, ON, Jan 16, 2013 — An Ontario environmental studies professor has created a website to track outdoor rink conditions across North America. It's called RinkWatch, where backyard rink creators can help track weather conditions.

According to the website, scientists in Montreal are predicting fewer outdoor skating days in the future, based on the results of data taken from weather stations across Canada over the last fifty years. So, Robert McLeman, at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, is asking for regular, systematic observations from kids and families about outdoor skating on local ice rinks this winter. He told Todd Moe that it's another example of a citizen-scientist project to help track climate change.