TiWalkMe: 1,000-Year Forest Clock
TiWalkMe is a clock (still in conceptual stage) designed to track 1,000 years using a forest seeded along a ribbon of land to tell time. Annual tree plantings set the pace, visually representing time passing as they mature and functioning as the clockwork mechanism. The purpose of the project is to make a long progression of time visible as a way to help focus on long-term planning in reaction to the failure of our species to do so.
Over the next millennia the TiWalkMe Escapement will grow in one direction with some sections aging, others regrowing and above all, changing. Future generations are the stewards of future details, but the proposal tasks this generation with locating a site (several have already been determined as good choices), etch the overall plan of paths and trees and set the clock into motion.
Although handling the project will be passed down from generation to generation, three principles will guide its evolution: 1)The slow march of trees across the Escapement must always be visible and unobstructed; 2) The Escapement must adapt to future knowledge and needs, yet remain balanced with the past; 3) TiWalkMe’s mission is to bring perspective and insight to its visitors.
The man behind the TiWalkMe is inventor, physicist, entrepreneur, designer, former Bell Labs chief scientist, and now venture capitalist Greg Blonder of Genuine Ideas. Presently, the search continues for funding, volunteers, and site selection.
Learn more about the project at Watchismo.
