WEST BRATTLEBORO — On Earth Day, 2016, a group of campers helped to install a Picture Post near the summit of Heifer Hill at the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC).
The Picture Post Project is a part of the Digital Earth Watch (DEW) network. Developed jointly by NASA and six other institutions, DEW is run by the University of New Hampshire. Picture Post was created as a tool for non-scientists to monitor their environment and share observations.
DEW supports environmental monitoring by citizens, students, and community organizations through digital photography. The post allows visitors to help create a time-lapse sequence of photos that will document changes throughout the year and hopefully for years to come.
Once photos are uploaded to the Picture Post site, they will be analyzed to monitor tree health and climate-related seasonal changes.
Instructions mounted on the post direct visitors to take a series of nine photos, and provide the URL where the photos can be uploaded. An app for iPhones is also available, making it even easier to participate as a citizen scientist.
The photos create a 360-degree sequence of pictures - a panorama of the beautiful view from Heifer Hill for participants' own photo albums.
BEEC's trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk, and hikers are encouraged to use the Picture Post.
This Picture Post was donated by EPA New England's Making a Visible Difference in Communities program.