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Tag: trees

Trillion Trees: An Interactive Look at Forest Regeneration

Posted on by Eric Ashcroft
Trillion Trees organizations

Trillion Trees is a joint venture between three of the world's largest conservation organizations - BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF - to end deforestation and restore tree cover. The organization aims to protect and restore forests to achieve one trillion trees by 2050, for the benefit of people, nature, and a stable climate. To do so, they:

      • Implement work on the ground to protect and restore forests,
      • Influence global policy and private sector practices, and
      • Inspire us all to value, protect and restore forests.

Key to these efforts is telling the story of where their work has made a difference and where the need is the greatest. Being able to do so in an interactive and compelling way can lead to more support both financially and politically.

Trillion Trees StoryMap

Trillion Trees looked to Blue Raster to tell their story via an ArcGIS StoryMap. Using data sets from a variety of research, the Trillion Trees story map shows how nearly 59 million hectares of forests – an area larger than mainland France– has regrown since 2000. This research informs forest restoration plans worldwide, giving a picture of the areas where focusing restoration efforts could be most beneficial.

Trillion Trees StoryMap

With the StoryMap application, Trillion Trees was able to outline the story they needed to tell, select the data to use, develop content to provide context to the data, and create graphics. Much of this work is automated in the platform, allowing non-developers to build an incredibly interactive page that reads like an in-depth magazine article in a mainstream media source.

The Trillion Trees story map includes:

      • An overview of the challenge
      • A definition of regeneration
      • The impact of discovered regeneration
      • An interactive map showing viewers the areas of high regeneration along with descriptions of why/how that regeneration happened.
      • In depth analysis of two areas’ regeneration

The content provided shows the impact policy changes regarding forestation, environmental protection, and agricultural regulation can have on tree growth.

Green Belt Movement Maps Progress of Community-Based Tree Planting in Kenya

Posted on by Jessica Viel

With the launch of their new website, the Green Belt Movement (GBM) is sharing the good news about forest restoration in Kenya using a new web mapping tool developed by Blue Raster.  The GBM Impact Map is an interactive application that charts the progress of GBM’s tree planting initiative, which mobilizes Kenyan communities to start tree nurseries and plant seedlings on public lands and degraded forest areas.  Since 1978, GBM has worked with communities to plant more than 47 million trees in Kenya to address environmental concerns regarding deforestation, soil erosion and lack of water.

The GBM Impact Map will help donors, volunteers and concerned citizens visualize the results of GBM’s tree planting initiative.  “Reliable location-specific data provided by the GBM web mapping application is vital in planning and monitoring the impact of our watershed-based projects.  The ability to map and track the projects on the ground ensures that we are effective and efficient in our work across Kenya and also that the impact of our work is measurable,” said Wanjira Mathai, International Director of the Green Belt Movement.

This application, built using ArcGIS Server API for JavaScript 2.8, enables anyone to view thousands of tree planting sites across Kenya including the number of trees planted and the planting date.  The interactive map also displays geolocated facts about the community-based tree nurseries that grow the seedlings including photos from Flickr of nurseries/planting sites.  In addition, users can observe the sites over dozens of different basemap themes.  To experience the GBM Impact Map, visit www.greenbeltmovement.org.

The Green Belt Movement Impact Map