Witnessing Change: A Journey Through Time in Holistic Management

As we step into 2026, I'm struck by a remarkable parallel between cutting-edge astronomy and the work we do on our land every day. Scientists at Chile's Vera C. Rubin Observatory have just unveiled their first images using the world's largest digital camera. Their ambitious goal? To chart every change in the night sky over the next decade, creating an unprecedented time-lapse of the cosmos.

What captured my attention wasn't just the stunning imagery; it was their commitment to documenting change over time. Isn't that exactly what we do with our fixed-point photographs?

The Power of Witnessing Change

In Holistic Management, we know that transformation doesn't announce itself with fanfare. It unfolds quietly, season by season, year by year. While our biological monitoring provides essential data, there's something uniquely powerful about a photograph taken from the exact same spot, year after year. Progression over time is more important than snapshot data. While both matter, the big picture matters more than the incremental season-by-season changes.

I learned this firsthand when I established my own monitoring points, photographing them each April around my birthday, Southern Africa’s autumn. This timing is ideal because it marks the end of the growing season when plants stand fully expressed with their seeds. I started documenting changes in species, growth habits, and biodiversity trends, focusing intently on what my decisions were doing to my monitoring sites scattered around the ranch. What I hoped to see was not always what I observed. Wet and dry seasons, along with good and not-so-good management decisions, all impacted the results. But I also witnessed invasive bush dying back over time.

These images became more than mere records. They became proof that our practices were working—immediate feedback that our holistic decisions were healing the land. The progress toward that future landscape description is real and happening. Keen observation and nimble pivoting of management strategy are essential to adaptive management. It’s the difference between hoping we are doing the right thing and knowing we are doing the right thing.

An Invitation for 2026

This year, I'm asking each of you to join me in this practice of patient observation. Whether you've been taking fixed-point photographs for years or are just beginning, I encourage you to:

Choose Your Moment

Pick a meaningful date and commit to it annually. The end of your growing season is ideal when plants are fully expressed. This timing allows you to see the complete story of that year's growth. It can also correspond with your closed-season forage assessment, enabling you to accomplish both critical steps in one outing.

Select Your Points

Identify 3-5 locations that represent the diversity of your landscape and your management goals. Mark them carefully so you can return to the exact spot. I used two metal posts—one to stand at and the other to center the frame of the photograph. Include a landmark in your frame, such as a windmill, a distinctive tree, or a hillside feature. This will help you identify the exact location and frame your shot consistently year after year.

Photograph with Intention

Look for what you're hoping to see, but also keep your eyes open for changes you didn't anticipate. Sometimes the most profound transformations happen in the periphery. When framing the picture, remember that this is a soil surface evaluation. Get as much of the soil as possible in the frame and use the horizon to orient the photo at the top of the frame.

Try to take the photo at the same time of day, so that shadows and light orientation are consistent. Light orientation significantly alters perspective at different times of day.

Share Your Story

And here's my special request: I want to see the changes you're making. If you have fixed-point photographs documenting your land's transformation—whether spanning decades or just a few years—please share them with us. Send your before-and-after images, along with a brief description of what shifted and what practices made the difference, to waynek@holisticmanagement.org.

With your permission, we'll feature selected stories in upcoming newsletters and on our website, building a visual library of Holistic Management in action. Just as the Rubin Observatory will create a time-lapse of the cosmos, together we can create a time-lapse of planetary healing—one ranch, one farm, one piece of land at a time.

The Long View

The astronomers in Chile are committing to a decade of observation. Some of you have already been documenting your land for longer. Others are just beginning. Wherever you are in your journey, remember: every image you capture is both a record of where you've been and a promise to your future self about what's possible.

Starting in 2026, let's take the time each year to bear witness to the changes we're creating. Let's document not just for ourselves, but for each other, for future land managers, and for a world that needs to see that regeneration is real.

Here's to a year of visible transformation.

With gratitude for your stewardship,

Wayne Knight

Executive Director

Holistic Management International

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Notice:

• The change in tree density.

• The change in the type of woody species growing – the trend to thornless species.

• The difference in the velocity of the nutrient cycle.

• The changes in the density of both small/young and older trees. Notice the trend.

  
  

Site N8 in May 1998

The same site, N8 in April 2016