By DYLAN MIARS

ESRI, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, held an online seminar that high school students across the Redlands Unified School District were able to attend in their AP Human Geography classes. Students at school sites: Redlands East Valley High School, Citrus Valley High School, and Redlands High School attended a lecture via telepresence on the latest software developed by ESRI to best help the environment by mapping green infrastructure for the U.S. Land Trust Conservation Community. This event occurred from 11-12 on Oct. 20 and had a turnout of 40+ students across all sites that tuned in.

Nathan Smith, an AP Human Geography teacher at RHS, when asked about what he thought of the lecture said, “This was a good opportunity for students to explore possible career paths and engage with the community. I thought that the part about where they choose to develop cities and where to preserve was good for students to hear. Those with a background in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) got a lot more out of it.” Students learned about a term used by ESRI “cores”, meaning places of origin for many species that are essential for life existing within a boundary of 1000 meters by 1000 meters. In this event, students saw how abundant “cores” were and how they are slowly fading away. They were taught the alternative ways to build social infrastructure to preserve “cores” so that the impact the environment faces is minimized.

Photo Credit to ESRI