Geospatial Literacy & Training
I am very conscious of the speed at which our geospatial field is evolving, and to that end I seek to build a community interested in applied geospatial research and outreach locally at UC Berkeley and across the state. I am faculty director of the Geospatial Innovation Facility, which is dedicated to bringing cutting-edge mapping technology to students, staff, faculty and others, and encourage everyone to visit us on the web or in person in Mulford Hall.
My geospatial literacy outreach program is targeted at several different audiences including the public, educators, natural resource policy makers and managers, and graduate, undergraduate and K-12 students. My general philosophy is to enlist the public and others in environmental stewardship and sustainability through education about geospatial topics. The geospatial tools of GIS, remote sensing and GPS are useful for their immediate visual impact, imparting valuable information about the local natural environment, spatial context, and potential threats, and my geospatial education projects make use of the immediate personal impact of seeing, for example, one’s house in the context of a larger environment. We can use this personal, spatial connection to introduce more complex and important concepts. For example, these tools are fundamental in local and regional government, increasingly used by local and regional planners to design communities and manage natural resources. Because they are represented on commissions and councils, and impacted by planning and management decisions, the public needs to be aware of the processes so that they can be informed contributors in planning or maintaining their local communities. In the summer of 2008 I was awarded an "Excellence in Education" award from the California Geographic Information Association for my geospatial outreach and training program work.
Training for UCCE
With funding from the Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA), I led a series of GIS/GPS workshops for UCCE colleagues. We held Introductory and Advanced workshops on GIS and GPS every summer for UCCE colleagues. Depending on funding, I will hold these again. Information can be found here.