GIS Mapping & Trail Markers

By Connor Rockett

One of the highlights of this past week was getting to work on GIS mapping. GIS is a program that helps design maps and incorporate a wide range of information into them. I worked with GPS data for a map of the Crystal Spring Farm trails and drafted a map of the upcoming Woodward Cove preserve. Since getting introduced to the program at the start of my internship in mid-June, I’ve started to get the hang of it little by little. Given the importance of GIS to environmental organizations, the experience I’ve gotten with it is useful for going further into this field of work.

I finished my week by eliminating old, faded trail markers at Cathance River Nature Preserve. Elimination blazing can take a lot out of you – between dealing with mosquitoes and scratching at tree bark, it takes some grit to push through it! If you get into a groove with it, your mind wanders off to think about whatever while you work – in that sense it can also be a relaxing task. What’s more, working outside in the beauty of the Maine summer is always uplifting.  Heading out of the trail system with sore arms and back, I was glad to have put in an honest day’s work and took my exhaustion as a good sign.

Over the course of the week, I again got to experience the variety of tasks involved in stewardship; on any given day, I might be working with mapping software or outside improving trails. Both types of work teach different skills and require different ways of solving problems that come up. All in all, I’m grateful to be spending my summer doing this diverse, varied work.