Eagle Scout project helps Sippican Lands Trust track environmental changes
Iain McManus stands next to one of his photo posts at Brainard Marsh. Photos by Grace Roche
One of the views from the photo post. 
User-submitted photos will help the Sippican Lands Trust track changes at each location. 
A sign shares information on how to use the post and how to access panoramic photos. 
The bright orange top of the post has numbered sides to show the order photos should be taken in.
Iain McManus stands next to one of his photo posts at Brainard Marsh. Photos by Grace Roche
One of the views from the photo post.
User-submitted photos will help the Sippican Lands Trust track changes at each location.
A sign shares information on how to use the post and how to access panoramic photos.
The bright orange top of the post has numbered sides to show the order photos should be taken in.
MARION — At three Sippican Lands Trust properties stand a wooden post with an orange octagon affixed to the top.
These “photo posts” are the culmination of Iain McManus’s Eagle Scout project, and were designed to encourage people to take a series of photos that the lands trust will use to track environmental changes at each site.
The posts are used by placing a smart phone horizontally against each side of the octagon and taking a series of eight photos. Users can then submit the photos to the lands trust to be combined into one panoramic image.
McManus chose the project because of his interest in environmental science, which he plans to study at the University of New Hampshire in the fall.
While the idea for photo posts to collect visual data at a site isn’t new, McManus said previous attempts have “fizzled out” because of technological restraints.
“The way we've remedied some of those issues is by using an Instagram page to store the photos, so that no one has to worry about maintaining a website or leaving a server online,” he said.
He worked with Alan Harris, a board member for the Sippican Lands Trust, to develop the project and select Brainard Marsh, Osprey Marsh and White Eagle as ideal locations to install the posts.
At Brainard March, the photos capture the water, shoreline, vegetation growth and a nearby osprey nest. Photos from Osprey Marsh capture the growth cycle of plants there. White Eagle photos keep track of the cranberry bog the lands trust hopes to eventually restore.
Harris said it was important to select places with enough open space so the photos could show a wide scope of changes throughout the seasons and over the years.
He said the idea to store the photos on Instagram was “very clever” and makes managing the project much easier for the lands trust.
With locations selected and a plan in place, McManus gathered friends and troop members to install the three posts.
“We were impressed with Iain's focus,” Harris said. “All the guys showed up, and they did a lot of digging, and they made a good crew.”
McManus said beyond doing repairs on the posts, he’s left the project in the hands of the lands trust.
“I hope more people will know about it and actually come down and be able to put more (photos) towards it,” he said.
