GIS students and faculty at the 北科罗拉多大学 are putting their skills to work, spearheading a humanitarian effort 那 will impact communities across 全球. 

UNC, in partnership with Colorado State University and Front Range Community College, is gearing up for their annual Mapathon — an event where a group of people come together on a particular day to voluntarily work on a collective mapping project. 这次事件中, 定于11月. 16, 4-6 p.m.我支持 失踪的地图, an open, collaborative project co-founded by the American Red Cross 那 empowers volunteers to map areas where humanitarian organizations are working.  

“Some countries have very limited data structure and preparation 那 can be used for mitigation efforts in response to emergencies,” said Jieun Lee, associate professor in UNC’s Department of Geography, GIS and 可持续性.  “马拉松提供了一个场所 where volunteers come together to create 那 needed data for communities around the world so 那 local and international organizations and decision-makers can use these maps and data to better respond to crisis affecting these areas.” 

马拉松，一部分 NOCO GIS日， is sponsored by UNC’s Department of Geography, GIS and 可持续性 and is co-led this year by UNC students Sarah Karr and Joseph Andrade-Schuch, along with local map expert and guest speaker, Mike Thompson. 

For Karr, a senior Psychology major with a double minor in 环境al Studies and GIS, and Andrade-Schuch, a senior 环境al and 可持续性 Studies major, the event is an opportunity to not only exercise their leadership and GIS skills, but to be a part of something 那 has a global impact. 

“I think this is a really cool thing for UNC to do, because it's solely humanitarian 安德拉德-舒赫说. “And it's all volunteers who do this, so no one's getting 支付. If there's ever a crisis in the area we’re mapping, we're the people who did 那. That kind of work makes you feel good.” 

Part of their responsibilities as co-leads for the event was to choose what to map, and according to Karr, the process wasn’t easy. The two spent hours looking for the right project, scanning areas in South America, Central America, Africa, Europe and Australia, before settling on a mapping project in Nigeria. 

“There are many things out there 那 need to be mapped and they are all very important, so it’s been hard to find the one 那’s perfect for this mapathon,” 卡尔说. “We can’t really do intermediate or advanced mapping in this setting because not everyone is going to have the knowledge or skill for 那. If you pick an area 那’s too urban or too rural, it can get pretty tricky.” 

According to Andrade-Schuch, this year’s mapping project will cover an extensive area containing mainly forested areas and farmland. Although there is some urban land, it’s not enough to raise the difficulty level of the mapping. 

“This particular map was the perfect mix of everything,” he said. “所以，不管怎样 your skill level is, there’s a little bit of something here for everybody.” 

Both Andrade-Schuch and Karr emphasized 那 the event is open to anyone who wants to learn more about OpenStreetMap (OSM), how to create OSM data and digitize the new 本项目数据. They’ve even developed a step-by-step guide of standard operating procedures 那 will walk volunteers through the process.  可以亲自出席 at UNC’s GIS Lab in Candelaria Hall, room 2110, or virtual. 没有GIS经验 is required but participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop and mouse as 实验室电脑有限. 

“I think it'd be a lot of fun for people from the community to get involved in this,” 卡尔说. “It’s a chance to get to know college students and learn a little more about who we are, what we can do and just have the opportunity to teach more people 地理信息系统的潜力.” 

For food and planning purposes, registration for the event is required by Tuesday, 11月. 15. To learn more and register, visit NOCO GIS Days 2022.   

——迪安娜·赫伯特写