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Grenadines MarSIS – Google Earth Workshops

Posted on June 6, 2010

The Grenadines Marine SIS that has been put together by Kimberly Baldwin and dozens of local residents of the Grenadines (Windward Islands, Eastern Caribbean — split between St. Vincent and Grenada)  is a very impressive piece of work — links in the Message copied below, and other information available from Kim <baldwin.kimberly@gmail.com>

 

Hi everyone,
 

FYI -Press Release about next weeks teacher training workshops on the use of Google Earth and the Grenadines MarSIS sponsored by US Embassy.
 

Series of workshops to train teachers in the use of Google Earth and the Grenadines Marine Information System underway 
 

From Monday, June 7 to 11, 2010, primary and secondary school teachers from across the Grenadines will receive hands-on training in the use of a cutting-edge technology used to create the Grenadines Marine Resource and Space-use Information System (MarSIS), the first of its kind underwater mapping information system in the Caribbean. The Grenadines MarSIS is a Geographical Information System (GIS) or a spatial mapping database which has been created to integrate a range of existing scientific information together with a variety of local knowledge of the Grenadine marine resources (i.e. reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves) as well as areas important for conservation (i.e. turtle nesting beaches, fish nursery areas) and livelihoods (i.e. fishing, tourism, shipping, recreation) as well as hundred of underwater pictures and videos across the Grenadines. This information system has been collaboratively developed over the past 5 years with a range of community members within each Grenadine Island in order to provide easy access to marine environmental information and allow for more informed decision-making and ultimately promote sustainable marine resource management across the Grenadines.
 

Using both GIS and Google Earth technology, Ms. Kim Baldwin, a PhD researcher and another geospatial technologist with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill, will show teachers during a one day workshop how the marine information system (including the 3D seafloor model) of the Grenada Bank was created. Training will also be given to the teachers in the use of Google Earth and the Grenadines MarSIS in order to increase access this locally derived information and incorporate it within science, technology and geography curricula.
 

The first workshop will take place in Carriacou at the Multi-Purpose Centre in Hillsborough on June 7; the second will take place on June 8 in Union Island at the Sustainable Grenadines Project office; the third workshop at the Canouan Government School on June 9; the fourth workshop in Mustique on June 10; and the final workshop will be held at the Bequia Community High School on June 11. More than 50 teachers are expected to attend this week-long series of workshops.
 

The Public Affairs Section of U.S. Embassy, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Bridgetown, has provided the funding to conduct these five workshops as they recognized the value of the Grenadines MarSIS data and its multiple applications in education, marine resources, economic development, etc. and support UWI’s efforts to disseminate this research which is consistent with the Mission’s objectives in the countries of both Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
 

For more information on the research project, a link to download the Grenadines MarSIS as well as an online video tutorial on its’ use, you can visit www.grenadinesmarsis.com. 
 

Take care,
 

Kim Baldwin
 

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