This summer one of our research projects is about data and mapping. Although this may sound dry at first pass, this project is foundational to future projects, and paves the way to tackling other kinds of research.
McGill student Caitlin Fass (supervised by Professor Jeff Cardille at McGill’s Macdonald Campus) is bringing together into a single system, the various data sets that already exist about Creek 53. With the help of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, several past surveys have collected data about the plant and animal species that can be found in the woodlands, fields and wetlands. We also have a data set on the areas of human disturbances and publicly available data sets such as property boundaries, zoning, hydrology and elevation.
Caitlin is helping us organize this data, and is creating examples of stories and maps that can be built from these data. For example, one of her ideas is to provide a web-based story about the railway line that used to run from Montreal to Ottawa - a line that crosses parts of Creek 53. This narrative can be integrated with the wildlife that has been recorded along that section of land, helping us visualize the biodiversity along the old rail line.
Creek 53 is excited with this partnership and thrilled to have Caitlin working with us. We’ll share more as the project evolves!