St. Lucie Environmental Resources Invites You to Snap A Photo at the New Chronolog Station at Oxbow Preserve
PORT ST. LUCIE – St. Lucie County’s Environmental Resources Department is one of the first in Florida to partner with the Chronolog Project and welcomes guests to engage in a unique citizen science project. To participate, simply take a picture utilizing the special cell phone photo bracket installed at Oxbow Preserve’s Sundew Overlook.
The overlook is a raised observation platform with scenic views of a natural wetland. After snapping a photo of the wetland through the bracket, instructions at the platform guide visitors to email the photo using a unique site code. The Chronolog Project then adds every photo to an online chronological time-lapse of the site. As more and more people upload photos at different times of the day and throughout the year, a unique peek into the dynamic changes and annual wet and dry cycle of the wetland will be revealed.
“All the directions are at the photo station,” says Senior Environmental Outreach Coordinator Erin Cartmill. “You just go out there, set up your phone, snap a picture, email it to the email listed and it’s automatically uploaded.”
The Sundew Overlook platform is located on the preserve’s Blue Heron Trail, approximately a half mile from the trailhead behind the Eco-Center. Oxbow trail maps can be found at the front door of the Center and parking lot trailheads. Waterproof shoes or boots might be suitable if there have been recent rains as the trails occasionally flood; check trail conditions at www.oxboweco.com at the ‘Visit Us’ tab. The Sundew Overlook platform provides picturesque views of an ephemeral depression marsh with concentric bands of sedges, grasses, St. John’s wort, patches of blue maidencane and delicate yellow bladderwort. The marsh is prime habitat for wading birds, dragonflies and amphibians.
The photo station is a part of a larger citizen science effort known as Chronolog, a volunteer-based organization with more than 140 photo stations in the U.S. and U.K. The Chronolog project connects communities with land stewards to create crowd-sourced time lapses of important natural areas. By making environmental conservation a collaborative activity, people become interested in participating and compelled by the findings.
To view photos submitted to the Sundew Overlook chronolog, visitwww.OxbowEco.com and click the ‘Sundew Overlook Chronolog’ icon. To view or download the Oxbow Preserve trail map and check trail conditions, click the ‘Visit Us’ icon.
The Oxbow Eco-Center is both an environmental learning center and nature preserve situated on 225 acres along the St. Lucie River and houses the Environmental Education and Community Outreach Division of the St. Lucie County Environmental Resources Dept. It is located at 5400 NE St. James Drive in Port St. Lucie. For more information contact the Oxbow at 772-785-5833, emailoxbow@stlucieco.org or visit www.oxboweco.com.
