In 1977, Eugene Odum advocated a synthetic approach if ecology were to rise above the level of explanation afforded by independent, individual studies [1]. Today, Odum's wish is being fulfilled, and important advances are being made by synthesising data derived from great numbers of studies, either by scaling up temporally or geographically [2]. However, to allow effective, creative, and reproducible integration of ecological and environmental results, the methods and data used need to be made freely accessible and combinable.