Incredible three-year timelapse video shows stunning impact of lakeside project: 'So cool to see'

A nature preserve in Indiana celebrated the victories they'd won in their fight against invasive species on TikTok.

A video posted by Chronolog_io (@chronolog) showed Miller Woods, part of Indiana Dunes National Park near Indianapolis, Indiana, over the course of three years.

@chronolog.io Crowdsourced ecosystem monitoring FTW🤳🌿 This timelapse—created by visitors at #indianadunes—shows Miller Woods transforming as teams remove invasive cattails and restore native plants. #InvasiveSpeciesRemoval #EcosystemRestoration #CommunityScience #CitizenScience #ParticipatoryScience #CoolChronolog #Chronolog ♬ original sound - Chronolog

In that time, visitors and volunteers worked with Rangers at the park to remove invasive cattails from the lake near the boardwalk of the Paul H. Douglas trail.

The video highlights where the cattails had been (all along the marshy coast of the lake) and then notes the concerted effort in 2019 and 2020 to remove them. Almost immediately in the pictures after their removal, it's evident that other native plants moved into the area to replace them as the area recovers from the cattail infestation.

Cattails are commonplace in most of the United States and Canada, and one of the three species, the narrowleaf cattail, is considered both non-native and invasive, according to the USGS. They're hardy and tough to do away with because they spread incredibly quickly. Part of this is because of their unique method of producing thousands of seeds, which form the cattail's trademark tuft at the top of the plant. They're dispersed through the air, spread incredibly quickly, and can outcompete native species for resources and food.

On top of that, chemical methods many wetlands caretakers may rely on are less effective against cattails than they are against other species. Unlike other invasive species, if kept under control, cattails can have a profoundly positive impact on their surrounding environment, filtering water and toxins out of the environment. However, they need to be closely monitored, as in most modern wetland ecosystems, they can grow out of control quickly.