It may be a big part of Okotoks’ identity, but now the Okotoks Erratic is receiving worldwide attention and is being recognized as one of the world’s 500 most significant cultural sites.
The Big Rock is being included in the CyArk 500, a non-profit project that aims to document and preserve historical sites around the world and share them in a 3D library online for the entire globe to explore.
“The ultimate product what we have is we have the initial launch page is a 3D interactive model where you can zoom in, you can manipulate it you can explore a little bit further,” said Makenna Murray with CyArk. “They have hotspots for pointing out particular features for the monument, and then it will have a little description and fuller historical text, that links you to a media gallery which includes all the 3D data as well as historical documents or photos.”
The project is aiming to document 500 sites in 5 years, and currently has 80 available on their website, which attracts more than 2-million viewers each year. The sites, which include Mount Rushmore and the Sydney Opera House, are selected through a nomination process, and then thoroughly reviewed and discussed by a team of experts.
“We're asking sites themselves or people who have a particular love of sights to nominate them to be part of the CAark 500 challenge, and that process is pretty quick, it involved an initial letter of interest and that letter is reviewed by our CyArk 500 council which is made up of leading heritage experts from around the world,” Murray said. “They’re reviewed for the criteria of risk, their ultimate cultural significance, and the particular benefit that applying 3D technology would have.”
The Alberta government was a partner in the project and was the one who requested the Erratic be considered for the 3D laser renderings of the rock to help document its every crevice.
Over the years, the Big Rock has seen an unfortunate amount of vandalism, and each time they have to remove spray paint from the rock, it further damages it and risks disturbing the centuries old aboriginal paintings.
Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Maureen Kubinec said they were eager to do something to preserve the Big Rock’s significance before it was too late.
“The people in our provincial historic resources department recognized that this was an amazing thing, and that we wanted to preserve it,” she said. “So I think they contacted the CyArk 500 and they developed a partnership and it's worked out really well.”
The department invested $25,000 into the project, which resulted in 3D last images of the rock, which will allow them to use it in future graffiti removal efforts as well as educational programs about the Big Rock.
“There has been some problem with vandalism so we’re wanting to educate people on how important this is,” Kubinec said. “Any time you have an amazing site like that you just need to preserve it and that’s what our department of historic resources does.”
The projects can be found at http://www.cyark.org/projects/, with the 3D components for the Okotoks Erratic coming online in the coming months.
