Chronolog Citizen Science Project

The Stormwater Department will be installing three Chronolog photo stations in 2026 along the walking trail from Walter Elisha Park to Harris Street Park, as well as in Harris Street Park itself. 

Chronolog is an interactive, collaborative citizen science project that will engage town residents as well as visitors.  Chronolog provides a set location for a series of photos to be taken by members of the public, which can provide us with a look through time at that particular location.  This can be useful for observing stream stabilization efforts, keeping track of erosion and invasive species.

Chronolog provides us with a bracket which will be mounted to a post with a custom sign, which is then positioned so that photos will capture the area we want to collect data about.   There are instructions for the public on what to do once they take their photo.

Chronolog’s cloud-based application receives photo submissions via email, aligns and crops them, and appends them to the right timelapse. It also sends a reply email, thanking contributors for their participation. This reply comes at the most engaging moment, while the visitor is still standing in front of the scene. 

 The public chronolog page refers to the webpage for an individual chronolog. It includes the timelapse as well as details about the physical location and greater organization. It has a unique URL you can share. It is discoverable by anyone online.  For a local example, check out one of the two City of Gastonia operates. https://www.chronolog.io/site/KGB102  If you watch the timelapse, you can see images before and after Hurricane Helene and see the information that these timelapses can capture.

Once the photo stations are installed, this page will be updated to link to our local timelapses. https://www.chronolog.io/project/FMS

If you would like to watch a six-minute overview from Chronolog, click here.