The Barrington Land Conservation Trust is conducting a citizens science project in an effort to collect information about changes in the environment.

The citizens science project is called “Chronolog” and is a nationwide effort — locally, a photo station was installed at Allin’s Cove. Officials are asking residents to stop by Allin’s Cove and take a photo of the cove using the Chronolog phone holder. They can then email the image to Chronolog; more detailed instructions are attached to the photo station. 

The Chronolog photo station is located at the end of the Third Street entrance to Allin’s Cove. Parking is not allowed on Third Street — people need to walk or bicycle to Third Street, or they can reach the photo station from the end of Willow Way, with similar restrictions on parking.

Allin’s Cove is the first site in Rhode Island to host a Chronolog photo station. 

“Allin's Cove is an expanse of salt marsh, grassland and wooded upland surrounding a tidal cove. The area has undergone significant changes over the decades due to dumping of manufacturing biproducts and disposal of dredge spoils in the early to mid-1900s. In the 1990s, a portion of Allin’s Cove was donated to the Land Trust with the goal of preserving it for future generations,” stated a press release from the Barrington Land Conservation Trust. 

“Restoration efforts began in 1996 thanks to strong neighborhood and town participation, Save the Bay, Land Trust volunteers, the Coastal Resource Management Council and federal funding. Sea level rise and invasive species continue to threaten this sensitive cove, which is home to many shorebirds, sea life and mammals.”

Separate project

The Barrington Land Conservation Trust is also conducting a separate research project at Allin’s Cove regarding the elevation where native salt marsh spartina grass shifts to phragmites, an invasive species. 

“Using ground-based topographic mapping and a real time global positioning system, researchers can measure elevation with a high degree of accuracy,” stated the release. “This data is used to link vegetation community structure to elevation and to map areas affected by sea level rise.

“The same technology is being used to evaluate the effects of a Dec. 2022 storm at another Barrington Land Conservation Trust property — the Johannis Farm Wildlife Preserve — and to map the location for the land trust’s new pollinator garden at that site.”

The Barrington Land Conservation Trust has preserved nearly 300 acres of open space for the benefit of the public. For more information on the Land Trust and how you can get involved, visit www.blct.org or email cindyelder@blct.org.