Moody Ecology
Mapping Kansas Ecosystems
In 2021, a new Kansas Ecological Systems Map was published. This map was a collaborative project between Kansas Wildlife and Parks, the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, the Nebraska Games and Parks Commission, and the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership. I became involved at the last stage of field work for this project, collecting ground-truthing data.
Soon after this new map was published, I was hired to help Dr. Dana Peterson (Kansas Applied and Remote Sensing) to create a StoryMap website as an educational outreach tool. For this project, I acted as a Creative Director, Project Manager, and Content Creator, specifically focused on the ecological information.
The StoryMap “Mapping Kansas Ecosystems”, after a brief project overview, introduces users to basic remote sensing concepts and the large-scale processes that impact ecosystem development. One highlight of the map is a Web Map Application, developed by Dana Peterson, that allows users to interact with the Kansas Ecological Systems Map and the field-collected data used to create it. Another feature is a Map Tour of Kansas ecosystems, which takes users on a virtual tour of Kansas ecosystems. Each "stop" highlights a different grassland, forest, or wetland type found in Kansas.
