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2016 Spring | Climate Change, Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Mercy Me the Ecology: Bridging the Gap Between GIS and Citizen Scientists

Student(s):

Gavin Jaravata

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Joleen Palmer

Partner(s):

  • Stillwaters Environmental Center

Faculty advisor(s):

Yen-Chu Weng, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

With a number of changes set to occur following climate change, I found a need for effective monitoring. During my project, I assisted Stillwaters with monitoring a salt marsh facing increased tidal inundation in 2017 as a part of an ongoing restoration project. Specifically, I had two tasks: create photo monitoring points within the salt marsh and update Stillwaters’ GIS database. I blended these two tasks by uploading the photos I took within the salt marsh to a GIS map of the salt marsh. I then created a tutorial for future volunteers, interns, and employees to replicate this process of uploading monitoring photos into their GIS maps, as my internship ended well before the restoration effort would conclude.