Volunteer Assisting Ward Melville Heritage Organization

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) is a not-for-profit organization located in Stony Brook, Long Island, NY. Its mission is to protect, preserve, and interpret historic and environmentally-sensitive properties, including both an 88-acre wetland preserve called West Meadow Creek, as well as the Doctor Erwin Ernst Marine Conservation Center, located at the heart of the preserve. From these sites, WMHO hosts educational programs to inform the public about the science, ecology and history of its wetland habitat and how it connects to the greater Long Island Sound ecosystem.

Mackenzie Fox, a GISCorps volunteer from Colorado, was selected to assist WMHO in configuring a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online to store data on species and water quality, streamlining the data entry process through Survey123, and developing a StoryMap to showcase the educational effort.

Mackenzie worked closely with Deborah Boudreau, the Educational Director with WMHO, in teaching Deborah the ins and outs of navigating ArcGIS Online. Mackenzie developed a customized survey for the WMHO project using Survey123 Connect which allows users to pinpoint their location or select one of the six collection sites used for the 2022 season. 

Fig. 1 Survey currently identifies six unique Long Island Sound Habitats or users can pinpoint their location on a map. 

Users can then enter water quality data as well as species observations from their recorded location. During the 2022 project, students focused closely on water quality at six different locations within the Long Island Sound watershed. Students were also taught how to use a professional-grade water quality sonde for obtaining and recording pH, nitrates, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and several other water quality parameters. 

Fig 2 Water quality parameters collected in the survey.

Fig 3 Survey selection arranged by class with accompanying drop-down species list.

Mackenzie and Deborah curated the hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online to display the 2022 data which was collected by partner youth organizations and students throughout Connecticut and Long Island. The feature layer data was then displayed on an interactive web map and dashboard embedded in a Storymap showcasing the project. (Figure 4- 6)

Fig 4 Screenshot from StoryMap exhibiting the project

Fig 5 Screenshot from the Long Island Sound Connections StoryMap exhibiting the project

Fig 6 Data dashboard embedded within the Storymap gives viewers a sense of the results of the survey, with an emphasis on the different dissolved oxygen levels throughout the six different collection sites.

The project was exhibited at the WMHO 2022 Long Island Sound Connections Summit where teachers and students could see the visualizations of their hard work collecting data out in the field (Figures 7-9). Moving forward, WMHO hopes to continue this youth driven citizen science project next year, and continue to inspire and teach the next generation about the delicate ecosystems of the Long Island Sound and what we can do to ensure their conservation for many years to come. 

Fig 7-9: Screenshots from the Long Island Sound Connections Summit. The Summit brought together 6th grade students from Edison Elementary School in Bridgeport, LI and Selden Middle School in Selden, NY. as well as scientists from Stony Brook University’s School and Marine Atmospheric Sciences and Department of Ecology and Evolution.

“GISCorps was a game changer for us. This collaboration enabled WMHO’s environmental research and education programs to reach new heights. We learned to harness GIS mapping in order to improve the scope and depth of our research capabilities, as well as our abilities to analyze and communicate them in support of our educational mission. Our volunteer, Mackenzie, was thorough, reliable, patient, and comprehensive in her approach with us. She truly listened to our goals and helped to pace us accordingly given our unique resources and capabilities. We are extremely pleased with the results.” – Deborah Boudreau, Education Director of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization

“WMHO greatly appreciates the professionalism and expertise GISCorps volunteer Mackenzie Fox gave WMHO for the creation of this remarkable storytelling tool.” – Dr. Richard Rugen, Chairman of the Board of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization

“Working with GISCorps and the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) was an especially meaningful experience. I was able to hone my geospatial skills while working in Survey123 Connect and ArcGIS Online, while assisting an organization with a very important cause. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the educational director at WMHO in inspiring young people to become enthusiastic about environmental stewardship through hands-on field work and geospatial technology. I look forward to volunteering my geospatial skills again in the future.” – Mackenzie Fox, GISCorps volunteer