GIS5945- Blog #4

   

     My GIS Day event centered on introducing my parents to GIS and mapping. It's easy to say GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems, but that doesn't help people (in my experience) really understand what that means and how it applies to career goals - especially when family asks! I decided a good example of showing off GIS would be creating a water line map of my family's property with my family. The property used to be used for swine raising, and there are several water lines implemented by family not shown on any map -- I thought it might help in the future if there was something that indicated line approximate locations. 

    To start the process, I prepared a map for field data gathering in ArcGIS Online using Field Maps Designer, and added layers for "Broken/Hazards" (with small drop down of descriptions, "Turned off manually", etc.), "Spigots", and "Water Lines". When that was done, I took some time to explain what GIS was (and what I was doing with my life) with my parents, showing them the map created for data collection in the Field Maps mobile app. My dad wasn't interested in walking around the property, but my mom and I walked around and I mapped out the water lines using Field Maps.  

     While GIS Day is officially November 18th (in 2026), I took an opportunity to celebrate early and show my parents what GIS and mapping might involve. In the process, we created a map that might help in the future to avoid having to do repair on water lines - which can be a task! In the future, I might celebrate GIS Day using one of the resources ESRI provides. For now - happy early GIS Day!
     

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