Natural Research Project Coordinator Lucy Ellis shows environmental studies students the Warner Park bioretention gardens and Deanna Beasley’s Chronolog project. Photo by Angela Foster.
Many visitors to Warner Park—home of the Chattanooga Zoo—often mistake the vegetation in the parking lot for neglected overgrowth, with some even using the area as a space to litter.
The green space, however, serves a purpose. It is a bioretention garden that uses native plants to manage stormwater, improve water quality and support plant diversity.
Dr. DeAnna Beasley, a UC Foundation associate professor in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is doing work to educate the public about the importance of this space.
In partnership with the city of Chattanooga and the zoo, Beasley’s work is part of a public science initiative funded by grants from Tennessee American Water.
The project uses Chronolog, a photo monitoring system, where park visitors can set their smartphones on camera stands and snap photos of the bioretention gardens, contributing to a time-lapse showing how the gardens change over time.
“We wanted something that was accessible,” Beasley said. “You take a picture, email it, and then it sends you the time-lapse.
“We are essentially putting in something that cues people to care about the space. By setting up something like an education site or some structure that indicates that someone is taking care of this space, we are also trying to invite folks to help us take care of this space by taking pictures, monitoring and then participating in it.”
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Click here to view the Chronolog time lapses.
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The city has aimed to install educational signage at the Warner Park bioretention gardens, which are home to over 100 native plant species.
“Educational signs for the bioretention area had been a goal of the city and the zoo for several years,” said Lucy Ellis, the city’s natural research project coordinator. “The project never started due to funding and other priorities.”
Beasley’s suggestion to use Chronolog brought the project to life, which not only tracks environmental changes but also addresses public misconceptions about the gardens.
In addition to Warner Park, camera stands have been installed in three other parks across Chattanooga, including Carver Park, Renaissance Park and Heritage Park. The green spaces are home to various habitats, such as wetlands and wet meadows, which play an important role in improving local watersheds.
For the past three years, Beasley has brought over 100 students from her ecology lab to conduct science in the gardens—with some using the sites in their senior research studies.
Beasley said she sees this project as a way to educate students on real-world environmental challenges while also connecting the public with nature.
“It’s giving us different ways of working with the public, engaging them and training students to think about how they assess the quality of the environment,” she said. “For my students who are interested in environmental stewardship or conservation, thinking about how they can work in these urban habitats has been really beneficial.”
Ellis described Beasley as a “great partner” with Chattanooga’s Parks and Outdoors.
“The garden sometimes receives complaints about the tall plants mistaken for neglectful overgrowth,” Ellis said. “I hope the chronologs help improve public perception or at least give people an opportunity to interact and see how dynamic the areas are.
“I think a lot of negative perception can be turned around with some simple education, that these places and plants are here to help protect people downstream.”
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Photos of the Warner Park bioretention garden submitted to Chronolog in February 2024 (left) and July 2024.
