MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. (AP) – Straining against the knife-sharp winds on top of the Northeast’s highest peak, it’s easy to miss the tiny white petals of the diapensia.

Like much of what grows at the highest elevations of Mount Washington, diapensia – also known as cushion plant – is built to survive. Waxy leaves form a compact, spongy mat that clings to the ground, protecting the plant from the famously bad weather atop the mountain.

Diapensia may not be an eye-catcher, but scientists at the Appalachian Mountain Club hope hikers will pause to observe it as part of a larger project on climate change and air quality.

“A lot of people come to the mountains; it’s a unique environment, an alien landscape,” said Doug Weihrauch, an alpine ecologist for the club. “People can learn a little bit more about what makes this place so special.”

“This place” is the craggy, windy stretch near the summit of Mount Washington, elevation 6,288 feet. It’s an ideal place for the AMC project, dubbed Mountain Watch, because what little grows there is more likely to be sensitive to changes in climate. And from the mountain it’s easy to notice any pollution obscuring views that on a good day can extend as far as 90 miles.

Mountain Watch uses hikers as amateur field scientists to monitor plant life and the weather. Volunteers jot their observations on forms provided by the club or use special cards to record ozone levels. Club scientists add the information to a database that they hope will ultimately show long-term trends in climate and air quality.

But the idea is more than just getting hikers to collect data, said Georgia Murray, a club scientist who helped develop Mountain Watch. Stopping on a trail for five or 10 minutes to note one’s surroundings is a simple way to engage people with their environment, she said.

The project isn’t limited to Mount Washington or its alpine zone. Visitors to club centers around New Hampshire can record when the leaves of certain trees change color in the fall, or when they start to bud in the spring. Club chapters also have been taking air-quality readings in other East Coast states.

Murray said she hopes gathering information will make people more aware of the threats facing mountain environments.

“I guess I come from the perspective that knowledge is going to get them to take that next step of wanting to do something about it,” she said.

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