Recap:
- ENV 201 GIS Lab 1
- ENV 311 Lying with Maps Lab
- Bird Window Collision Mapping Project
- Halloween in the SAL
Details:
- ENV 201 GIS Lab 1
EVN201/202 met in the Spatial Analysis Lab for its second mapping session of the semester. This time we explored vector data with tools like Field Calculator, Buffer, and Erase. The students were tasked to create a convincing argument regarding local food access issues, and they all met the challenge with grace…and only a few ArcMap crashes.
- ENV 311 Lying with Maps Lab
The ENV311 class returned to the SAL for a second round of ArcMap investigation. Students used data about Toxic Release Inventory sites in the Pioneer Valley to explore how the map can communicate many aspects of the content depending on the cartographer’s decisions. Students found that simple things like changing symbology and classification or selecting by certain attributes can drastically alter the message. Hopefully we’ve helped to create some thoughtful mappers who have a new found respect for the ethics of mapping.
- Bird Window Collisions Mapping Project
A group of seniors in the ES&P capstone course (ENV312) are using GIS to analyze and visualize parts of campus that are more and less dangerous to bird traffic. The project looks promising for humans and birds alike.
- Halloween in the SAL
Friday was a lively day in the Spatial Analysis Lab. There was a variety of students working on diverse projects around the lab, and the mapping software seemed to be on best behavior with very few shut-downs. Everything went so smoothly that it was almost…spooky. At the end of the day the faculty/staff ultimate Frisbee pickup participated in its final outdoor game of the season, sigh. All adorned their Halloween costumes and hit the field! Picture below. Spatial Fellow, Victoria Beckley, can be seen in her brilliant “blue-genes” costume, that few guessed, but that took the win for the pickup costume contest!
