2022 TLEF
https://sites.google.com/view/tab-inventories/2022/2022-tlef
Show Me Your Brownfields: Creative Mapping Visualizations
Cleanup and redevelopment of Brownfields is becoming increasingly challenging in a world with a rapidly changing climate. This 4-hr session will combine in-person and virtual work to either start, improve, or fix your mapping projects. Participants are encouraged to bring their maps and will be able to sign up for one-on-one work with guest experts. We will include an array of approaches using multiple platforms: ArcGIS, Storymaps, Google Earth Pro/Web, My Maps and Earth Engine. Participants will be given an on-demand set of hands-on activities to work on either before or after the live sessions to demonstrate how to use data from EPA ACRES and KSU BiT, along with historic imagery, to create map layers to visualize their sites in a changing environment. No programming or prior experience with GIS is required, although participants with expertise will find useful tools to add to their workflow.
Today's Agenda
Session #1 Your database (8:00-9:00 Central)
Breakout room: KSU TAB team - sign up for BiT, BiT problem solving BiT/ACRES interface
Session #2 Using GIS data and moving between mapping platforms (9:00-10:00 Central)
Breakout room: Brandy Fogg - ArcGIS
Session #3 Using collaborative maps for public engagement (10:00-11:00 Central)
Breakout room: Nasbah Ben - Google geotools
Session #4 Visualizing environmental change (11:00-12:00 Central)
Breakout room: Annie Taylor - Earth Engine
Your Database
Our focus will be on geospatial data useful for Brownfields inventories, although the techniques we discuss will also be useful for environmental impact work generally, as well as for inventorying culturally important sites. You will have an opportunity to sign up for BiT (Brownfields Inventory Tool) and learn how to export data from BiT into ACRES, and to export Network Links, CSV and KML files from BiT into other mapping platforms such as ArcGIS Online, EPA EnviroAtlas, Google My Maps and Earth Pro.
Our breakout room experts will be staff from KSU TAB who can help you sign up for, use, and problem solve data in the BiT and ACRES platforms.
Using GIS data and moving between mapping platforms
Once we have located geospatial data for our projects, how do we use the data files to create maps? There are a number of mapping platforms that we can use to visualize and analyze our data, and we don't need to be a GIS specialist to create the maps that we need. We will begin by discussing some of the choices that we have and the pros and cons of different tools and file types. We will do a hands-on activity where we will import GIS files into ArcGIS tools created by EPA to get a feel for what it is like to use the ArcGIS platform even if you do not have access to ArcGIS Online or Pro. Then we will import SHP files into Google Earth Pro and export them as KML/KMZ files that can be used on other mapping platforms, which gives you a free alternative for handling GIS files.
Our breakout room expert will be Brandy Fogg, who will provide help with projects you may have created (or plan to create) using ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro. Even if you do not have access to ArcGIS, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and see the platform in use in the breakout room.
Collaborative Mapping
We also need to create maps for our communities, which requires us to think about how to turn complex geospatial data into readily accessible stories that can be used to educate and engage non-scientists in a meaningful way. We will use the free Google My Maps, Earth Pro, and Earth Web platforms to create maps for public engagement. Our hands-on activities will create maps that you can use for your own work, and we will explore a number of different workflows that will help you to quickly share your data with collaborators and your community.
Our breakout room expert will be Nasbah Ben, who will provide help with projects you may have created (or plan to create) using the Google geotools. If you need help with any aspect of Google My Maps or Google Earth (Pro or Web), or if you are already an expert and want to improve or share your work, this will be a great opportunity to collaborate on your maps.
Visualizing environmental change
One of the most powerful ways to help your community understand the changes that we are seeing from human activities (for example, damming rivers, mining, urban development, agriculture) and climate change (increasing risk of fires, floods, tornadoes, sea level rise), is to create visualizations from satellite and aerial imagery over time. We will explore two free tools that can be used; the timeslider in Google Earth Pro and tools built on the Google Earth Engine platform (Timelapse, Global Forest Watch, etc.). The hands-on activities will provide you with map visualizations of environmental change that you can use in your own work.
Our breakout room expert will be Annie Taylor, who can help you with the Earth Engine platform, a powerful tool for accessing historic satellite imagery and conducting analyses of landuse/land cover changes over time. Even if you are not a coder, you can watch a demonstration of Earth Engine and learn the technology behind tools such as Global Forest Watch, Global Surface Water Explorer, etc.
Guest Experts
Annie Taylor
Google Earth Engine
As a PhD Candidate at University of California Berkeley, I’m partnering with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of California's Central Coast to study the ecological impacts of Indigenous stewardship practices with innovative geospatial tools. I’ve worked extensively in Google Earth Engine, a powerful remote sensing API, to study ecosystem change over time and space. I aim to apply my skills in remote sensing, ecology, and GIS to promote environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty. I hope to learn with you in my Earth Engine workshops!
Brandy Fogg Hamil
ArcGIS
Brandy has an MA in Indigenous Nations Studies from the University of Kansas. As a geographic information system (GIS) analyst in the water resources group of her engineering firm, Brandy works primarily on floodplain management projects for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 7. She is most known for her ability to create meaningful ways to display complex data through ArcGIS online via web applications. Brandy didn’t see enough women of color at engineering and design firms or when she was on-site with clients—this bothered her enough to want to get involved in outreach and recruitment and she works with several organizations to act as a role model and mentor.
Nasbah Ben
Google geotools platform
Nasbah Ben is an advocate for Tribal communities and continues to ensure Tribal projects implement their Tobacco-related programs in a culturally relevant and appropriate manner. Ms. Ben is from northeastern Arizona and a member of the Navajo Nation. She has traveled worldwide to advocate and organize Indigenous programs, that are focused on the rights of Indigenous people. Her work has focused on ensuring representation from Tribal communities in material and content development, curriculum development, strategic planning and organizing, as well as program building.
Ms. Ben has a BS in Environmental Sciences, with an emphasis in Environmental Planning from Northern Arizona University and has completed course work and research towards a MA in Global Indigenous Nations Studies Environmental Track at the University of Kansas.