AbstractEarth: Exploring One Community. Developing an Environmental Baseline Study.Track: Environmental Management Author 'What's the difference?', a question this project investigated. How connected are the Earth's natural systems? How healthy are these natural systems and do my actions affect them? How much do I really consume? Brookhaven College students launched into a multi-year project to collect and analyze geospatial data for the purpose of reaching a higher understanding of the environment and our influences upon it. Learning is enhanced when the content of the course is related to the environment in which the study takes place. 16 students and 4 instructors worked with The GIS Institute to invest 9 days at Lighthouse Reef, Belize. Participants performed 6 days of surveys in 3 teams: Bathymetric Mapping Survey, Shoreline Debris Survey and the Biota Survey. 960 hours of collection samples were then loaded into the ArcMarine data model for visualization, analysis and revelations. This presentation is the experienced result of the inaugural field study. J. Scott Sires Brookhaven College 3939 Valley View Lane EMGI - Bldg H Farmers Branch, Texas 75244 United States Phone: 972-860-4362 E-mail: ssires@dcccd.edu |