I will make a wild guess here that most of you have yet to hear of these Chronologs. I didn’t myself until the City of Gastonia and Keep Gastonia Beautiful got them two. So please read on because I want to put these cool things on your radar.
First, Chronologs aren’t time-traveling machines, teleportation devices, or some other piece of futuristic technology. That’s too bad because any of those would be super dope.
The Chronlog website says, “Chronolog is a monitoring tool for parks, nature centers, wildlife organizations, schools, and museums worldwide. With over 100,000 contributors across 300 organizations, Chronolog is on a mission to engage communities with nature while recording important natural changes.”
Chronologs start with photo stations placed strategically at locations, like a beach, wetland, creek, etc., by various organizations. Individuals passing by these stations are encouraged to take photos of the landscape with their phones. Then, that individual emails their photo to Chronology, which will get added to the landscape’s time-lapse. Next, the individual can visit the location’s Chronolog site to check out theirs and all the photos that have contributed to its time-lapse so far.
These time-lapse videos are great because organizations can see how the view’s environment and habitat evolve over time. This includes progress on wildlife and species restoration projects, stream bank erosion, simply sharing stunning views, etc.
The City of Gastonia and Keep Gastonia Beautiful installed its Chronologs at Avon Creek Greenway and Rankin Lake Park.
The easiest way to access the Greenway Chronolog is to begin at the Greenway parking lot at the corner of E Garrison Boulevard and Fern Forest Drive. Safely cross Fern Forest Drive to access the Greenway. The Chronology photo station will be on your left (the creekside), a little before Haywood Boulevard.
Once you find Chronolog Station KGB-101, you can enrich its time-lapse by following the three easy steps.
1. Turn your phone horizontally and seat it in bracket
2. Take a photo of the landscape
3. Email to upload@chronolog.io with the subject line KGB-101.
It’s that simple and a great way to participate in Gastonia’s monitoring efforts of this Avon Creek section. This Chronolog and the Greenway are open daily from dawn to dusk.
Rankin Lake Park’s address is 1750 Rankin Lake Road, Gastonia, NC 28052. The park’s Chronolog is along the boardwalk that connects the clubhouse parking area to the lake parking area. You’ll see the Chronolog Station KGB-102, where the boardwalk goes over Kaylor Creek.
To submit a photo, follow the same three steps as at the Greenway, but photos snapped at this station should be emailed with the subject line KGB-102.
Rankin Lake Park and this Chronolog’s hours of operation are from 7 AM to 8 PM.
I love both of these locations. I know that both are destinations and highly used by the City and Gaston County. There were families and people of all ages running, walking, and biking on the Greenway this past weekend and lots of runners and walkers at Rankin Lake Park last week. I hope to see more of them take part in Chronolog’s mission. I’ve submitted several photos from both places, and it was quite satisfying.
According to the Chronolog website, there are over 600 active Chronologs. The website has an interactive map that allows users to navigate to see where they’re located. They’re primarily in the United States, with the second lot in Europe and one or two in Africa and Australia. After watching the two Gastonia creek time lapses, do yourself a favor and check out the breathtaking time lapses of Alaska and Iceland.
Chronologs are great tools for public participation and environmental tracking. Individual photos add frames of important information to a view’s time lapse. If you find yourself around one, I encourage you to follow the easy steps to submit your photos, especially if you’re on the Avon & Catawba Creeks Greenway and at Rankin Lake Park.
Be a part of the timelapse.
The link to the Greenway Chronolog time-lapse is as follows: https://www.chronolog.io/site/KGB101.
Check out the Rankin Lake Chronolog time-lapse here: https://www.chronolog.io/site/KGB102.
Visit https://www.chronolog.io/ for the interactive map and more information about Chronologs.
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