Grassroots Campaign · 2026 Save the Record.141 Years Cannot Be Replaced. Every single day since 1885, someone has climbed Great Blue Hill…
Grassroots Campaign · 2026
Every single day since 1885, someone has climbed Great Blue Hill and recorded the weather. That unbroken record — the longest in the Western Hemisphere — is now at risk. And 141 years of handwritten history sits undigitized, one flood or fire away from being lost forever. We are not waiting for someone else to solve either problem.
Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center has recorded the weather on Great Blue Hill every single day since February 1, 1885. Through world wars, the Great Depression, blizzards, hurricanes, and a global pandemic — not one day has been missed. That record is cited by NOAA, NASA, MIT, and researchers around the world. It is irreplaceable baseline data for understanding climate change in our region.
Today that record faces two threats at once. The first is operational: as federal science funding contracts, the $160,000 annual cost of keeping observations running falls increasingly to our community. The second is existential: 141 years of handwritten logbooks — over 51,000 daily entries — have never been fully digitized. They exist on paper, in a building on a hill, vulnerable to everything paper is vulnerable to. We are working to fix both. Your gift addresses both.
“141 years of daily observations. Every storm, every heat wave, every quiet spring morning — recorded without interruption since 1885. That record belongs to science. It belongs to all of us.”
Why It Matters
The living record — the one being written every day on the summit of Great Blue Hill — cannot be paused. A gap of even a single season breaks a chain of data that scientists have relied on for over a century. There is no reconstruction, no substitute. Once broken, 141 years becomes a number with an asterisk.
The historical record faces a quieter but equally urgent threat. Every handwritten logbook from 1885 onward — recording the weather through the Blizzard of 1888, the Hurricane of 1938, the Blizzard of 1978, and tens of thousands of ordinary days in between — exists on aging paper. Digitizing that archive costs $750,000 and unlocks it for climate researchers worldwide. Without it, that history remains fragile, inaccessible, and at risk.
“The most homogeneous climate record in North America.”
— World Meteorological Organization
The Observatory at a Glance
National Historic Landmark · One of only 11 Centennial Observing Stations in the U.S. · Longest continuous weather record in the Western Hemisphere · Data used by NOAA, NASA, MIT, and the World Meteorological Organization · $160,000/year to keep observations running · $750,000 to digitize the full historical archive
The Moment We Are In
Federal funding for science and climate research is contracting. Programs that once supported observational networks like ours have been reduced or eliminated. The agencies that have long relied on Blue Hill’s data — NOAA, NASA, the National Weather Service — are themselves under pressure. The institutions that have always been the backstop for American science are no longer certain backstops.
This is not a moment for despair. It is a moment for communities to decide what they value and to fund it themselves. Blue Hill Observatory has stood on this hilltop for 141 years because people believed the record was worth keeping. We do not accept funding that comes with conditions on what we can say or study. We say what the data shows. We always have. Your support is what makes that independence possible.
Protect Today. Rescue Yesterday.
Every tier below protects the living observation record and rescues days from the historical archive. One gift. Two missions. Neither can wait.
Keep the record alive for one day
One climb. One set of readings added to 51,000+ consecutive days that have never been missed. Your gift makes sure tomorrow happens.
Protect today’s record. Rescue yesterday’s.
One day added to the living record. Thirty days rescued from the historical archive. For $562 more than a single day of observations, your gift does both — and that history becomes permanently safe.
A week on the hill. A month of history saved.
Seven consecutive days of observations — from the first barometric reading at dawn to the final temperature log at dusk — plus another month of the historical archive made permanently accessible to researchers worldwide.
A full month of science. A full month of history.
Every observation, every instrument check, every data point for 30 days — plus 30 more days of handwritten history digitized and secured for the next century of science.
Major Gifts & Naming Opportunities
Interested in a larger partnership — named endowments, corporate sponsorships, or multi-year commitments to the observation program or digitization project? Contact Cheryl Cummings, Director of Strategic Partnerships, at ccummings@bluehill.org.
Get Involved
A financial gift is the most direct way to help. But the strength of this campaign will come from how many people know about it and act — in whatever way they can.
Donate
Every dollar goes toward sustaining the daily observations and digitizing the historical archive — two missions, one gift.
Spread the Word
Tell your colleagues, your networks, and your communities. Forward this page. Post about it. The more people who understand what is at stake, the stronger we are.
Advocate
Contact your state and federal legislators. Visit our advocacy page for suggested messages and direct links to your representatives.
Stay Informed
Our monthly newsletter brings campaign updates, science from the hill, and program announcements directly to your inbox. Sign up at bluehill.org.
Save the Record
Every day this record continues is a day science can never lose. Every day of history digitized is a day secured for the next century of research. Be part of the community that does both.
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