Australia is looking into using satellite technology to monitor changes in its forests in near real time. The country has vast areas of forests and woodlands, ranging from tropical rainforests to dry woodlands. These ecosystems play a crucial role by storing carbon, supporting wildlife, regulating water, and helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, there is currently limited knowledge about how these ecosystems are evolving over time. Australia has many high-quality ecological research sites and monitoring programs, but until now, there hasn’t been a unified, long-term national system to track forest health across the country. This lack of a cohesive network has made it challenging to understand how forests respond to drought, recover after fires, and how much carbon they store. Researchers are upgrading thousands of solar-powered sensors to transmit data in near real time through satellites in low Earth orbit. A pilot project is currently underway in western New South Wales, and if successful, it could be expanded across the state or the entire country. This is especially important in remote areas where traditional data collection methods are limited due to the lack of infrastructure like roads and telecommunications. Data from these sensors would be especially useful after major events like droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires, which can cause rapid changes in ecosystems. Without such data, it’s difficult to understand how ecosystems respond to disturbances or how they recover. While satellite images can track some environmental changes, like logging or illegal roads, they are not enough on their own. Ground measurements are still essential, which is why the project uses satellites not just for imagery, but for transmitting data from remote areas. New satellite systems in low Earth orbit are making it more efficient and less costly for small, low-power sensors to transmit data. The benefits of near-real-time monitoring will extend beyond science, offering early warnings to ranchers, land managers, conservationists, and carbon project operators. Researchers from Western Sydney University and UNSW are collaborating with OQ Technology to expand the monitoring network from the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area to the arid woodlands of western New South Wales. The network includes sensors that track soil moisture, local weather, stem growth, and plant water stress. As time goes on, the data collected from these sensors will help build the comprehensive data sets needed to better predict future risks. Improved measurements will support better decision-making for policymakers, industries, and conservationists who rely on models and predictions to understand how Australia's ecosystems are responding to increasingly severe climate change.