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Environment

The LEARN Tool: Everything You Need to Know About its Exciting 2025 Updates

Posted on by Eric Ashcroft

Launched in 2021, the Land Emissions and Removals Navigator (LEARN) Tool was designed to help communities easily measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from land use changes. The tool enables users to intuitively analyze how forests and trees impact GHG emissions using land use and land cover data. In its latest update, Blue Raster collaborated with the Woodwell Climate Research Center, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and the World Resources Institute to expand its features, giving local governments and landowners even more tools to understand and manage the carbon stored in their forests and trees.

Blue Raster supported the initial development of the LEARN Tool to address a significant gap in existing carbon accounting methods. Traditionally, previously analyses have focused on measuring their emissions from energy and transportation sectors, while the emissions and removals from land-use change and forestry have been overlooked. However, these land-based emissions and removals are responsible for a significant proportion of the carbon footprint, particularly in rural areas.

What’s New in the LEARN Tool?

LEARN Tool

The latest iteration of the the LEARN Tool was built with the ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript and utilizes geoprocessing and image services hosted in an ArcGIS Enterprise environment.

The updated analysis in the LEARN Tool now includes the latest maps of Mature and Old Growth Forests, along with their protected status, offering a more comprehensive view of forest ecosystems. In addition to reporting net GHG emissions, the tool breaks down the total forest area by age and protection level, while calculating the carbon stored within each category. This deeper insight allows communities to understand the critical role forests play in carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.

With this information, users can easily identify high-value areas for preservation, develop strategies to protect mature and old growth forests, and take actionable steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By highlighting the connection between forest preservation and climate impact, the LEARN Tool empowers communities to make informed decisions that align with their environmental goals.

Blue Raster also enhanced the LEARN Tool’s greenhouse gas analysis module with the latest National Land Cover Database (NLCD) data and added the ability for users to customize carbon factors with their own data. The default carbon factors used by the tool are derived from the Forest Inventory and Analysis database, providing a reliable foundation for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. Now, users can upload local carbon data tailored to their specific community, enabling more accurate and precise analysis.

Finally, the tool’s user interface has been revamped, making it even easier to run analyses and interpret results. These updates provide users with greater flexibility, improved accuracy, and a more streamlined experience as they work to understand and address the role of forests in greenhouse gas emissions.

Image of Analysis Panel showing tables of Area and Carbon Stocks categorized by forest age and protections status

Our Commitment to Conservation and Addressing Climate Challenges

Blue Raster is deeply committed to supporting conservation efforts and empowering communities with the tools they need to address climate challenges. This commitment drives our continuous development of the Land Emissions and Removals Navigator (LEARN) Tool, ensuring it remains at the forefront of innovation in measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions from land use changes.

By collaborating with leading organizations and integrating the latest data and technologies, we strive to make the LEARN Tool a comprehensive and accessible resource for local governments, landowners, and conservationists. Our dedication to refining and expanding the tool reflects our belief in the power of actionable insights to promote sustainable land management and protect valuable ecosystems for future generations.

At Blue Raster, we are proud to be part of the global effort to create a healthier, more resilient planet.

Learn more about our work here and contact us today to see how we can support your mission and objectives.

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Blue Raster Collaborates with MIT to Address Environmental Hazards in Carceral Facilities

Posted on by Chigo Ibeh

At Blue Raster, we are committed to leveraging technology for equity and environmental justice. Our latest collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab - Space Enabled Research group and Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP), is a participatory research initiative designed to shed light on the environmental hazards faced by prisons, jails, and detention centers across the United States. From extreme heat and air pollution to flooding and wildfires, this project aims to document the challenges that these facilities impose on both the incarcerated individuals and the surrounding communities.

MIT Media Lab

The heart of the project lies in its community-driven approach. It brings together a diverse team of academics, grassroots organizers, and, most importantly, those directly impacted by incarceration. Our role at Blue Raster was to transform the vision of this initiative into an interactive mapping tool that not only highlights these environmental hazards but also elevates the voices of formerly incarcerated individuals. By incorporating their stories, we aim to facilitate a deeper understanding of the human impact behind the data.

Blue Raster's Role in the Project

Our team was tasked with transforming a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data into a user-friendly mapping tool. Our development process emphasized community engagement, gathering input from focus groups and interviews to ensure the platform reflects the needs of those most affected by the carceral system.

The development process, led by Dr. Ufuoma Ovienmhada from MIT Media Lab’s Space Enabled Research Group, unfolded in three pivotal phases. It began with in-depth interviews with community organizers, many of whom had firsthand experience with the prison system. These discussions highlighted the essential environmental data needed to support their advocacy efforts. In response, we designed a tool that enables users to visualize key environmental hazards affecting prisons, empowering organizers to drive meaningful policy change.

The tool developed using ArcGIS Dashboard and Experience Builder was utilized to house and display all the information captured as part of this initiative. It featured several tabs for viewing carceral facilities on map with more specific details to each facility attributed to each point using pop-ups and info tables. Additionally, users can navigate to the 'Insights' tab to learn more about  risk factors these facilities experience. These  risk factors include particulate matter, wildfire, overpopulation, extreme heat, flooding and drought intensity. And finally, user can navigate to the 'Storytelling' tab to read and listen to narratives and accounts from previous inmates around some of the environmental conditions they faced when they were detained or incarcerated at specific facilities.

The team collaborated closely with Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP), a human rights activism group. The FTP movement is inspired by the abolitionist movement against mass incarceration and the environmental justice movement, which have both been led by the communities of color who are hardest hit by prisons and pollution.  For this project, they were very instrumental in outlining requirements for the tool and further refining the tool based on the feedback gathered from focus groups.

Gathering stories from individuals within the system.

Monitoring of Environmental Hazards

Utilizing Esri’s powerful GIS software, we designed an accessible interface that features not only quantitative data but also qualitative narratives. These personal stories add a vital layer of context to the environmental data.

In its Beta form, the Toxic Prisons Mapping Project is a starting point for ongoing monitoring of environmental hazards related to carceral facilities. We envision this tool evolving through continuous feedback and contributions from the community, particularly those who have been directly impacted by the system, providing a resource for real-time awareness and long-term advocacy.

The dedication of individuals like Dr. Ovienmhada, Mei Azaad, and the many activists who shared their stories has been instrumental in bringing this project to life.

We invite you to explore the mapping tool at it's official website.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to refine the tool and expand its capabilities.

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Accountability Framework Initiative and Compliance with GFW Pro

Posted on by Katya Little

The Global Forest Watch (GFW) Pro application allows users to track and receive alerts of deforestation within their supply chains in real time, offering an accessible and comprehensive way for organizations to view their own progress in this key area of natural resource conservation. Blue Raster is proud to announce two updates to GFW Pro that allow for more efficient analysis of supply chains in light of new international regulations: new analyses specific to Argentina, and implementation of an E.U. deforestation regulation module tracking deforestation of natural lands since 2020.

A GFW Pro window displaying the characteristics of a particular historic site.

 

Accountability Framework Initiative and the EUDR 

The Accountability Framework, introduced in 2019 by an international collaboration of private producers and NGOs that form the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi), provides companies a roadmap to more sustainable production methods by outlining best practices and measures of impact. By applying the Accountability Framework, producers can better ensure that their supply chains adhere to international standards of sustainability and report to stakeholders and consumers the steps they are taking to secure a better future for people and the planet. A particular standard of sustainability for producers will soon be implemented in the EU–the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which obligates organizations that trade within the EU to ensure that their products are: 

  • Deforestation-free, meaning they come from a plot of land that was not deforested after 31 December 2020 
  • Produced in line with the relevant legislation in the country of production 
  • Covered by a due diligence statement.

GFW Pro now allows organizations to explore their production within the framework of EUDR and uses a new layer showing natural lands in 2020 as a baseline for deforestation analyses, confirming that products regulated by the EU are free from deforestation and degradation.

A table on GFW Pro showing forest loss since 2020 for a particular dataset.

Argentina OTBN Data

Additionally, GFW Pro now includes province-by-province data on Argentina’s Territorial Planning of Native Forests (OTBN). The 2007 regulation categorizes Argentina’s forests into three levels of conservation value and corresponding regulation, ranging from Category I (forest lands of high conservation value that cannot be transformed) to Category III (forest lands of low conservation value that can be transformed within existing regulation). The new data lets organizations monitor the overlap of the OTBN category of lands utilized in production and deforestation of those lands, enabling producers to more efficiently track whether or not tree cover loss remains within limits set by the OTBN regulation.

Blue Raster is a proud partner of the World Resources Institute and GFW Pro. Learn more about our work here.

Blue Raster Takes to the Skies at Holden Forests & Gardens

Posted on by Christopher Gabris

On a beautiful April morning in Northeast Ohio, Blue Raster made final preparations for a drone basemap capture. Located in Kirtland, about 30 minutes East of Downtown Cleveland, is the sprawling 3,600-acre Holden Arboretum, one of the largest public gardens in the county. With over 20,000 annual member households and an annual attendance of over 350,000 visitors, people flock to see the beauty of the different landscapes in search of inspiration, education, and peace.

On this day, Blue Raster was tasked to capture approximately 300 acres of the curated collections and gardens (the rest being mostly natural lands) with a drone to create a high-resolution basemap for use by staff and in a future public application. After a brisk morning drive in the golf cart to review the locations of the preset ground control points, the drone was ready to fly.

Blue Raster’s Associate Project Manager and Drone Pilot, Ben Masters, explained to the Holden Team along for the ride how the drone would capture the images, the planned flight paths, altitude, and speed, and provided a safety moment. In four separate planned missions, over 1,400 images were captured in a matter of hours. Then it was off to the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the second institution in the Holden Forests & Gardens family, to capture the approximately 10 acres located in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood.

Combined, the five drone missions and over 1,700 images captured were processed for the two sites using Esri’s ArcGIS Drone2Map software. The high-resolution and current imagery allows for accurate GIS and mapping workflows. Over the next few weeks, Blue Raster will prepare the basemap for use in Holden’s ArcGIS Enterprise environment. Everything from workflows in ArcGIS Field Maps to the future public application will utilize this basemap. Holden Forests and Gardens has nearly 20,000 individual living plant records in their botanical repository, BG-BASE, which will be synced with GIS for real-time display of location, condition, measurements, and more in GIS.

Want to learn more about Blue Raster’s drone and Public Gardens capabilities and experience? We've supported over a dozen Public Gardens since 2010. Check out our website and reach out!

Contact us today!

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Conservation.gov Launched for Earth Day 2024

Posted on by Anna Wegbreit

On Friday April 19th the White House announced the launch of Conservation.gov, an information hub supporting locally led efforts to conserve and restore our nation’s lands, waters, and wildlife. Designing this brand new website was an exciting project that Blue Raster was proud to support. Launched just in time for Earth Day 2024, Conservation.gov is home to a wide variety of resources that support conservation, including the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas (currently a beta version).

Home Page of the new Conservation.gov website Conservation.gov Welcome Banner

To celebrate and announce the launch of Conservation.gov the White House released a press statement, including a quote from John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, who said:

“With the launch of Conservation.gov and its tools like the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, Americans can explore how they can take action to support conservation in their own communities.”

Image of Conservation.gov feature of the America the Beautiful initiative through an interactive map application. Conservation.gov Interactive Map

Blue Raster supported this project by designing the website and pages using ArcGIS Hub. Blue Raster provided the visual designs, page layouts and graphic elements for the site, as well as configuring some of the included interactive elements such as the Find Financial Assistance tool. In supporting this project Blue Raster worked closely with our Esri partners, and an interagency partnership co-led by the Department of the Interior (DOI), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Image of prototype tool that currently aggregates financial assistance information from select programs in Grants.gov that Blue Raster was involved in building. This prototype tool currently aggregates financial assistance information from select programs in Grants.gov

Inspired by our work on Conservation.gov? Contact us to discover how Blue Raster can tailor GIS solutions to enhance your organization’s impact.

Visit our contact page to get started!

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