All posts by Joel Barker

I am a Masters of Science candidate in the Environmental Observation and Informatics (EOI) Professional Program at UW -Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. My summer capstone project will take place right here in Madison at the UW - Arboretum. I will be providing exploratory spatial data analysis and generating customized remotely-sensed base maps to further explore correlations between habitat and species migration. Finally, I will present my findings on the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in an ArcGIS Online Story Map, with the goal of inspiring users to "get outside and do science."

Against the odds

I began this project for Journey North and the UW-Arboretum with high hopes of finding an important correlation between the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and ecology, seasonality, or phenology. What I found was something altogether different…

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Reflection #01: The Road thus far

It has been one year and two weeks since I started the Environmental Observation & Informatics (EOI) program, and it has been a positive experience.

I think it tiresome to list the skills and facts I’ve learned and attempt to impress with an outstanding Curriculum Vitae, so I will approach this reflection in a more personal voice, a dialog, or journal if the reader so choose. Let me begin:

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Images of Change: The journey north

UW – Arboretum & Journey North

For my placement I will be working for the Journey North Program at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, located in Madison, Wisconsin. This is an exciting opportunity as Journey North has led the way in citizen science observations of migratory species in North America for the past 25 years, and currently contributes over 50,000 sightings per year, making the both the Arboretum and Journey North’s shared mission to understand, preserve, and protect migratory species like the monarch butterfly and ruby-throated hummingbird possible. 

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