How GIS Connects Science and Community

If you have every been involved with, or seen our volunteers counting the toadlets at Minnekhada, this is the tool they are using to collect all the data… an amazing article written by Giselle who helps us track all those toadlets!

MPA Volunteers have been counting toads and toadlets along transects, which can then be transformed spatially to analyze and view patterns and trends of toads across the park. This provides robust evidence to inform management decisions such as trail closures or signage.

Whether you’re tracking toads at Minnekhada Park or surveying the perimeter of a wildfire, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can turn everyday observations into meaningful, informative data by putting them on the map. GIS makes science more accessible by letting anyone with a smartphone collect, view, and share spatial data. Collected data can then be analyzed to spot patterns, check for accuracy and create easily digestible materials for education and decision-making. As GIS technology is becoming more and more accessible, citizens are embracing new ways to understand local environments and contribute to massive open datasets.

What is GIS?

At its core, GIS is a technology that enables spatial data (data tied to a location) to be stored, edited, analyzed and displayed. We can then understand where occurrences of interest happen and why that location may matter. There are two types of spatial data:

• Vector data, comprised of: points (e.g. toad sightings), lines (e.g. trails) and polygons (e.g. park boundary)
• Raster data, comprised of pixels, from imagery like satellite photos or elevation models

When this data is layered within a GIS, we can begin to see patterns and relationships that aren’t as obvious or as easily relatable within a spreadsheet. Our world is complicated and interconnected. This is where the allowance of GIS to integrate, overlay and analyze datasets to understand relationships, becomes powerful.

Mapping Wildlife: A Sandhill Crane Example

Say you were interested in understanding where Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) are located. You can download public observations of the species from eBird or iNaturalist and plot them on a map. You could then add habitat data overtop, such as wetlands from the Province’s free and open-source Data Catalogue. Now you can analyze whether sightings of Sandhill Crane overlapped with wetland habitat:

GIS software also enables you to symbolize your data in different ways. You could take the Sandhill Crane sighting points, and generate hotspots that show how many individual birds there are within a square kilometer, for example. This provides an idea of species density, habitat preference, or perhaps just higher numbers of birdwatchers:

GIS can also allow for the analysis of historical, or patterns across time. Say you were interested about when Sandhill Cranes frequent the marsh. We can symbolize iNaturalist observations by time stamp, to notice that they are seen at the marsh in the Spring and have not been observed in this habitat from October to December:

Beyond Beautiful Maps

GIS is so much more than just mapping. For those who love both art and science, GIS offers the perfect creative balance to explore and analyse data, taking spreadsheets of numbers collected in the field and transforming them into dynamic and engaging maps that reveal a scientific story. Take Digital Elevation Models for example, raster datasets representing the surface of the earth. The pixels can be transformed using colour gradients to uncover slope grades, providing a 3D representation of the terrain of Minnekhada Park that are visually striking.

I can take this same model, and symbolize pixels based on their aspect (the compass direction that a slope on the terrain faces).

What slope gradient do tree species not grow? Could slope aspect influence microclimates? Where does water flow during heavy rainfall events? Where is erosion a higher risk? Does the terrain affect toad migration routes? The possibilities with GIS are limitless, not only to answer questions, but often sparking many more as we dig deeper.

Citizen Science in Action at Minnekhada

Public and non-profit users such as the Minnekhada Park Association have embraced GIS technology in order to understand more about important species and advance environmental stewardship initiatives within the park. Citizens use apps such as iNaturalist and eBird to record species observations using the GPS on their phone. This real-time tracking of species contributes to an immense, global dataset to better understand global species distributions, abundances and changes due to climate change. MPA Volunteers have been counting toads and toadlets along transects, which can then be transformed spatially to analyze and view patterns and trends of toads across the park. This provides robust evidence to inform management decisions such as trail closures or signage. Citizens are involved in the collection of this data. When citizens are involved in the data collection, they become active participants in the science, not just the consumers of results.

As with any scientific data collection, there are always challenges and limitations:

• Different contributors may use differing methodologies, leading to data quality variations
• Observation bias, where more accessible locations or more charismatic species are over- reported
• Access to GIS technology can be a barrier. GIS software can be expensive and a steep learning curve
• Maps can be misleading and misinterpreted. With great stylistic capability comes great power
  and information can be unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) distorted

These challenges aren’t deal-breakers, only realities to keep in mind when designing inclusive citizen science projects. GIS continues to revolutionize how we can engage with science in our communities by allowing for the contribution of data, engagement in meaningful work and the influencing decision- making and education. Whether you’re tracking Sandhill Cranes, visualizing terrain or collecting data to inform the protection of tiny toadlets, GIS makes your contributions matter.

This article was written by Giselle Bonney, one of our most active volunteers. Giselle was one of the recipients of our 2023 High Knoll Award!