Engaging Local Students in GIS & Environmental Planning

Overview

Earlier this summer, CARPC Senior Environmental Resources Planner Matt Noone partnered with the State Cartographer’s Office to lead a hands-on mapping training for eight local high school students in Sustain Dane’s Powerful Teen Leaders summer program.

Responsibilities

• Learnt the basics of cartography
• Collected tree data at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton using a field mapping tool on their smartphones
• Uploaded findings into Google My Maps to visualize and analyze the results
• Created custom maps of their favorite places
• Toured UW–Madison’s Science Hall, the Map Library, and the Memorial Union

Qualifications

The mapping experience was just one of many career exposure opportunities in the Powerful Teen Leaders program. Throughout the summer, the group also visited organizations such as the UW Arboretum, EPIC, Exact Sciences, Dane County Landfill, and Operation Fresh Start. Many activities focused on sustainability, and in their final week, participants will present to friends and family about what they learned and how the program influenced them.