Our Work

Blue Raster helps you tell your story through interactive
mapping technology. Make your message clear, exciting,
and user-friendly for both mobile and web platforms.

Tag: Climate Change

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

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.

Contact Form

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

TNC Story Map: Planting Healthy Air

By 2050, the majority of humanity will live in cities, towns, and other urban areas. Among the most pressing of global urban environmental challenges is air quality. In cities, the most damaging air pollutant is particulate matter (PM), but another pressing problem cities face is heat: the air is simply so hot in summer that human health is impacted. At the same time, with climate change, increasing temperatures around the world are exacerbating excess heat produced by cities and causing dangerous heat waves.

To address this concern for the future, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) investigated the effect of planting trees in urban areas. The science is clear that tree leaves play a part in removing particulate matter from the atmosphere along with many other air pollutants. Also, the shade provided by urban trees along with the transpiration of water during photosynthesis can help reduce air temperatures, while also reducing electricity needed for residential cooling. From an economic perspective, TNC found planting trees produces a significant return on investment when planted strategically in certain areas of a city.

17_trees_remove_pollution_1To determine precisely where and how much trees can help, The Nature Conservancy collected geospatial information on forest and land cover, PM2.5 pollutant concentration, and population density for 245 cities and used relationships established in the literature to estimate the scope of current and future street trees needed to make urban air healthier. The resultant report, titled “Planting Healthy Air,” advises cities on where trees offer the highest return on investment for improving public health by addressing particulate matter and excess heat.

To help visualize this data and share this story, TNC came to Blue Raster for help creating an interactive story map built on the latest Esri technology. The Planting Healthy Air story map details the project’s motivation, visualizes its geographic data and geospatial analysis, and describes a simple plan for cities to reduce pollution and temperature by planting trees. The viewer can select a section of interest or scroll through all of them, exploring and interacting with maps. Viewers can see neighborhood-level analysis in any of the 245 cities included in the report or read in-depth remarks about one of 15 focus cities.

tncstorymap_benefitsoftrees

Built on ArcGIS Online, the Planting Healthy Air story map uses Cascade, a new template designed for immersive storytelling. The story map’s interactive format allows viewers to explore the data and analysis on their own terms and get personalized information about the places that matter to them.

“Thanks to Blue Raster for all their hard work. We’re really excited about this new resource for sharing our science!”

– Misty Edgecomb, Director of Communications, Global Cities, The Nature Conservancy

Read more on this exciting project at: https://global.nature.org/content/healthyair


Page 1 of 2