A new tool that uses technology most people have in their pocket allows private citizens to help document growth and other changes in areas where Conservancy stewards are eager to see conservation in action.
Chronolog camera stands are posted in strategic locations at eight Conservancy-owned sites. Visitors are invited to prop their phones in the supplied bracket and snap a photo at every visit. Instructions on the stand tell you how to email your photo to Chronolog. The company will then add your photo to others in chronological order and stitch the images into a time-lapse video. Everyone who contributes an image will get a link to the Chronolog website and access to all location videos. There are currently more than 230 in the U.S., Canada, and one in Europe. See the locations of Black Swamp Conservancy Chronolog stands and view current videos here: https://www.chronolog.io/project/BSC.
The Conservancy’s Executive Director Rob Krain said “Watching a time lapse of a landscape at different times of the year is just captivating. We learn a lot, but it’s also another way for people to appreciate these rare and valuable landscapes that are protected from development.”
Visitors are encouraged to add to the Chronolog story. The log for Pat & Clint Mauk’s Prairie (4825 Sugar Ridge Road, Pemberville), shows the spectacular blooming of a broad field of wildflowers. The camera location at Forrest Woods Nature Preserve (off US 24 east of Antwerp) is focused on a wetland restoration area. Land Steward Freya Bernston will keep an eye on that one looking for healthy growth and invasive plants. The vantage point at Carter Historic Farm (northeast of Bowling Green in Wood County) will show the continued growth of trees and shrubs planted as part of wetland restoration project on a part of this living history site.
Most Conservancy-owned properties are open dawn to dusk. See the Protecting Land tab for accessibility details.
