By Dr Debbie Care, AgVice

Dr Debbie Care was one of 20,000 people who attended this year’s Esri Story Mapping Conference, where the vibe was lively and constantly in motion. The first day plenary sessions saw all attendees gathered together and it was “fair humming”. Debbie says the power of GIS was undeniable in these sessions. “Maps that were submitted showed how complex data can be made much easier to understand, inform, and involve communities.”

Two standout speakers left a lasting impression on Debbie. The first was the governor of Minnesota who was dynamic, knowledgeable, humble and entertaining. He demonstrated how he uses story maps to provide a map portfolio for his executive team. You can take a look at his speech here: https://mediaspace.esri.com/media/t/1_d2sqkrju

The second was a National Geographic photographer who came to GIS late in his career. He realised his photographs could be used to show how things have changed over time, especially in the Arctic where he has observed the climate changing by the gradual increasing greening of the circle. You can view his story here: https://mediaspace.esri.com/media/t/1_9vfyxhtx

Always eager to learn, Debbie was impressed by the improvement in access to new layers such as iNaturalist which is now available in the living atlas series, and how this could relate to biodiversity and what can be done with it. She also noted the increase in the power of predictive tools that have been grouped together to make it easier for practitioners to use.

“These tools have been linked to complex questions but the process has been made easier. For example, ‘how resilient is my community?’ or ‘what is the inherent risk of landslide in this area?’ and ‘what would 100mm of rain in an hour look like in my space?’” Debbie is excited to now trial these tools on her client farms and groups to see what insights can be gained.

Networking was a significant part of the conference, providing opportunities to connect with people from similar or completely different backgrounds. This year Debbie faced a challenge of having to wear a moon boot for the entire conference, but she was still able to get around. The conference dinner was held in Balboa Park, a massive area with museums and art galleries open for attendees to explore. There were food stalls of all types to snack on while making their way around, live music, and street entertainment. Hosting 20,000 participants – four times the population of Debbie's hometown – was a bit mind-blowing.

Debbie has expressed her gratitude for the trip, acknowledging the farmers and Wai Kōkopu who allowed her to share their story publicly and win the story map prize last year. She also thanked Eagle Technology for sponsoring the conference registration and airfares. Although she did not win anything at this conference, Debbie says it was an awesome experience.