This map was completed by Ivan Carrasquillo, class of ’16, as part of the GIS curriculum of the Marine Biology Research Program.
Whenever the question “where” is asked Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to get the best answer. One of the major components of the Marine Biology Research Program is our GIS lab. Marine Biology Research scholars begin with introductory lessons on the importance of maps, the use of Global Positioning Systems for geo-referencing places & geocaching, and the differences between coordinate systems. Our scholars then begin implementing Digital Quest’s STEM aGIS curriculum of which the above map is one example. Our students are also required to begin a GIS project from scratch. We’ve had very diverse projects come out of our lab over the years ranging from Stop and Frisk to coastal land use. This year two of our scholars, Julia Montilla and Maria Giraldo are embarking on the Program’s first consulting project to map the American Chestnut trees that have been restored in Green-Wood cemetery and Prospect Park, NYC, by our Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) partner Bart Chezar and his team. We couldn’t have offered these wonderful opportunities if it wasn’t for the generous support of our PAC partner Jim Hall who has provided us with ArcGIS licenses over the years and the folks at ESRI, the makers of ArcGIS. It is important to note that ArcGIS is the industry standard software in GIS. We have been working to acquire the 2nd and 3rd parts of the curriculum in order to offer our scholars the possibility of obtaining Digital Quest’s GIS SPACE credential. The GIS field is a up-and-coming STEM field and a great 21st Century skill set for our scholars to add to their ePortfolios.
![This map was created by Julia Montilla, class of 16, as part of an ESRI tutorial.](https://i1.wp.com/harborseals.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/160220_julia_monitlla_gis_map-e1455988346109.jpg?resize=336%2C463)