The 3-D Topographic Watershed Exhibit Now Funded!

A green light was recently given to the proposed exhibit after generous private donations were received and the FoGR board and Sonoma County Regional Parks supplied the final lump sums to put the project’s funding drive over the top.

The Topographical Model Exhibit will reside in the Gualala Point Regional Park visitors center and will be the gateway for visitors to learn about our river’s 300 square mile watershed. An overhead video projector will display programs with still and moving images onto a 3-dimensional topographic model of the entire watershed, 4 foot by 6 foot in size. See the promotional video of the topo model used for fundraising.

All types of scientific data, historical stories, and interpretive programs can be projected onto this model in individual videos to educate on countless topics. Users will be able to choose which video to view. Visiting tourists, local residents, school groups and special group programs will benefit by engaging with the versatile offerings of this professional museum grade exhibit.

The quality and quantity of professional video content generated to load into this machine will determine how effective and engaging this exhibit will be. Thus, for this project to achieve its highest degree of success we need input from community members with talent and skills in data gathering, video graphics and production, hardware, writing, storyboarding, narration and editing.

If you have any of these skills to volunteer in the production of videos that tell one of these individual stories about the watershed, would you consider stepping forward? Lending your skills to produce some of the vital content in this exhibit will help guarantee its success. Contact a FoGR you know or info@gualalariver.org.

Fabrication will begin after the beginning of the year, and for those that come to visit or are lucky enough to call the watershed home, the finished exhibit will be a powerful and lasting educational tool to enjoy and to use in the efforts to protect this wonderful resource.