How You Can Help ‘Return The Rapids’ With Just Your Phone Camera

Since the start of July, Ah-Nab-Awen Park in downtown Grand Rapids has been buzzing with construction, both on the riverside and in the water itself. Large white structures have been added to dry up the riverbed, and progress on returning the rapids to the Grand River is in full swing.

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It's taken years of planning and careful maneuvering to meticulously rip up the dams currently in place and replace them with natural rocks and boulders to add natural barriers to the river. It's work done by professionals; however, there is something very simple that anyone can do to show the success of the project: all you need is your phone camera.

Tommy McNeill, Townsquare Media

Grand River Rapids Project Timelapse

If you've been on the Gillett Bridge recently, you've likely noticed not just the activity below the bridge, but also a new sign attached to the bridge near the Civic Auditorium. It's a simple sign with a metal bracket on top.

READ MORE: Why the Grand River Has Been Rapidless for 100 Years

But any of us who have hands-free phone holders in our cars know to put our phone in there, and that's exactly what the Lower Grand River Organization of Watershed (LGROW) wants you to do. Take a photo of the river in the brackets so the camera angle is the same, and either post it on social media with hashtag #PhotoMonitorGRR or email it to info@lgrow.org.

Tommy McNeill, Townsquare Media

This will let LGROW monitor the changes to the river through the lenses of the people who live here.

You can view the results here once the project is complete. Who knows, your photo could appear in the timelapse and help show how the river has changed after the dam removal.