Mapping for Food Security
April
Mapping is crucial for food security by providing essential information for agriculture. It identifies suitable areas for farming and aids in land use planning. Satellite imagery monitors crop health over large areas, while mapping assesses water availability and distribution, climate patterns, and impacts on agriculture and food production. During disasters, it helps assess damages and coordinate relief. Mapping infrastructure connects farmers to markets, ensuring that food reaches consumers efficiently and affordably. Overall, mapping informs decision-making, boosts productivity, enhances resilience, and ensures fair food access globally.
Guest Speaker
Catherine Nakalembe
Professor Catherine Nakalembe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland. In her role as the NASA Harvest Africa Lead and Agriculture and Food Security Thematic Lead on NASA's SERVIR Applied Sciences Team, she applies her extensive expertise in satellite remote sensing and machine learning to conduct groundbreaking research and develop applications aimed at advancing agriculture, supporting food security initiative, mapping land use, facilitating humanitarian aid, and enhancing climate resilience with a focus on Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Geographical Science from the University of Maryland, a Master's in Geography and Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, and a B.Sc. Environmental Science from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
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Train Your Mappers
Overview of the Process
1. Create an OSM Account & Complete the iD Editor Walkthrough
2. Learn to Navigate the Tasking Managers & Find a Project
3. Selecting a Mapping Square
4. Tips to be a Good Mapper
5. Saving Your Edits & Submitting your Square
Mapping Workflow
1. Go to https://tasks.teachosm.org/projects/1596
2. Sign in with your OSM Credentials
3. Read the instructions
4. Click 'Contribute'
5. Select an available mapping square
6. Start mapping! For this project, we are only mapping buildings.
7. Make sure to save every 10 edits using your chapter hashtag (#TeenMaptivists #TM_SchoolInitials)
8. When you are done mapping, indicate that the square is not completely mapped (while we are only mapping buildings, the project requests roads, so we will not mark the cell as completely mapped) and click 'Submit'
Goal: 20-30 Edits!
Mapping Task
Project #1596
Announcements
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Announce the location and time of April's Local Map-a-Thon
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Announce the National Map-a-Thon, which will be held on May 18th, 12 - 4 pm ET
Planning a Local Map-a-Thon
In the above document, you will a brief overview of the purpose and objectives of the Local Map-a-Thon. We have also formulated some examples of activities your chapter may choose to do as well as some helpful tips and tricks.
After each Local Map-a-Thon, please submit a brief recap of what activity your chapter chose to do, using the above form. The form includes a section where you can upload some pictures for us to share with the broader network!