About GIS Day

GIS Day Watch - November 2007

In This Issue

Thank You for Supporting GIS Day

On behalf of the GIS Day Committee, ESRI, and the GIS Day sponsors, we thank you for your continued support and dedication to the mission of GIS Day. The hundreds of events held all over the world will definitely further our goal of spreading awareness and increasing knowledge about GIS and geography in every corner of the globe. We hope you all had a happy and successful GIS Day 2007.

Please keep the momentum going and join us again next year for the tenth annual GIS Day celebration on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

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GIS Day Celebrated around the World

November 14 marked the ninth annual worldwide celebration of GIS Day. Participants from more than 80 countries helped educate the world about GIS technology, highlighting why geography matters to all of us.

Read how GIS Day participants celebrated this year.

Where in the World Are Our County Seniors From?
Forsyth County, Georgia, proved that you are never too old to learn about GIS and celebrate GIS Day. Two weeks prior to GIS Day, members of the county's Geographic Information Services Department visited the Forsyth County Senior Citizen Center and asked members to place a pin on a map representing their hometown. For some, this meant where they were born, while others marked where they spent most of their childhood. On GIS Day, the seniors rode a bus from the Senior Center to the county administration building and saw the map on display in the map gallery, collected door prizes, and learned about GIS. "The attendees all had a great global background," said Mary Jo Black Enderby, Forsyth County GIS specialist. Read more.

GIS Day at Camp Pendleton, California
During last month's Southern California wildfires, the marines at Camp Pendleton were directly affected, as fires were extremely close to the base. The marines were able to protect people and property by using GIS technology. A Carlsbad computer technology company that works with marines put the technology on display for the public and students during the GIS Day event at Camp Pendleton. Read more.

Remote GIS Day Event
Saint Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean, celebrated its first GIS Day by organizing an open house. Len Coleman, Saint Helena GIS manager, invited three student groups from Prince Andrew School, various organizations who use GIS, and the general public to the island's GIS office.

Learn more about the event by reading pp. 25-26 of the
St Helena Independent. [PDF-3.60 MB]

GIS Day at the Smithsonian Institute
The Smithsonian Institute held its eighth annual GIS Day event at the National Zoo's Amazonia Science Gallery, where GIS research scientists presented posters, maps, videos, computer and interactive displays, and career information. Impressive GIS datasets, in both ArcGIS and ArcGlobe, were highlighted including the Ocean GeoPortal, Amazon GIS, Global Volcanism Program, and biodiversity studies. Roughly 45 adults and 85 students took home materials about GIS, in particular, items about the use of GIS for mapping tropical and ocean environments, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) career materials, and giveaways from ESRI and National Geographic Society.

More GIS Day Events in the News

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Share Your Story

Don't forget to share your GIS Day experiences by submitting success stories and cake and T-shirt photos. Your event may be featured in the next issue of GIS Day Watch.

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Bring Asia to Life in the Classroom

The National Geographic Society brings geographic knowledge to students, teachers, and families throughout the United States with Geography Action! The five-year journey around the world continues in 2007, focusing on the continent of Asia.

Take a virtual journey to Asia and see how GIS technology opens doors of understanding to the vast and complicated Asian continent by watching Layers of Asia - A GIS Journey through Our World [WMV-9:26]. Visit India to see how geography and climate have influenced history, visit the Himalayas to see how mountain climbers use GIS to plan routes, and visit China to see how megacities will emerge in the twenty-first century.

ESRI produced the video in support of National Geographic Society Educational Foundation's Geography Awareness Week. ESRI is a coalition member of National Geographic's My Wonderful World geographic education initiative.

Additional Resources

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GIS in Action

Impact of Climate Changes on Gray Whale Feeding Grounds Tracked with GIS
Researchers at Coastal Ecosystems Research Foundation, a Canadian nonprofit organization, are tracking the concentration of chlorophyll a, the blue-green pigment in phytoplankton, in the ocean using GIS technology, a process that could be crucial in sustaining the gray whale herds that populate the Pacific Ocean. Read the article.

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