For the last three months seventh graders enrolled in Mrs. Mello's GIS Elective at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School have been introduced to the basics of GIS while working on their submissions for Maryland's 2022 Student ArcGIS Online Competition. Throughout the trimester the students learned the fundamentals of GIS by creating a map of their route to school from memory using different types of candy. Students also discovered how GIS is used as a tool for placing a new business by creating web maps based on a topic of their choosing and comparing data for neighboring counties.
To give the students a chance to meet GIS professionals in their community Mrs Mello and the 7th graders visited the ESRGC. These students were given a tour of our office and introduced to our GIS Team. Through a project showcase we were able to show the students how we are using GIS to solve problems, provide services to the public, and make important maps.
After the tour the students met with Logan Hall for a Drone 101 lesson on how we can use Drones to solve problems and what is required to fly one.
The highlight for all of the students was being included on a drone mission. Logan led the students outside and with their help prepped the drone for a flight and ended the day with some group photos.
One of the students who attended the visit to the ESRGC was recently selected as the Middle School Winner for Maryland's 2022 Student ArcGIS Online Competition. The announcement was made during the class tour and the student was surprised to find out she had the winning map submission for the entire State of Maryland.
The winning Story Map:
Emergency Homeless Shelters on the Lower Eastern Shore of MD
Other honorary mentions from Mrs Mello's class include:
Why Don't We Have More Asian Grocery Stores?
Veterinarians in Charles County and Wicomico County
Catholic High Schools in Maryland
A Story Map about Recycling Centers
The ESRGC is an outreach entity of Salisbury University, and is a joint effort between the Mid-Shore Regional Council, the Tri-County Council of the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Upper Shore Regional Council and the University. We are a group of GIS and Programming professionals dedicated to creating partnerships with municipal, county, regional, state and federal governments as well as private and non-profit organizations in an effort to develop data-driven decision-making tools. With over 100 years of collective experience in the geo-spatial industry and 16 years as a GIS shop, the ESRGC has cultivated a reputation of professionalism, cutting-edge innovation and high-quality production.