UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. Their bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while involving local communities is becoming increasingly popular.
(c) UNESCO
During my time in Niagara College I assisted Geospatial Niagara in creation of the spatial materials (maps and the geodatabase) to provide to stakeholders and community groups with support for gaining various endorsements in promotion of the creation of a Global Geopark within the Niagara area. It was required to update geodatabase, perform analysis, and create various maps and other spatial data showing new possible geosites, as well as, trails and cycling networks, cultural heritage sites, geological features, festival activities, natural, wooded, birding and hunting areas and tourism infrastructure.
The study area is located within southern Ontario within the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The project covers all twelve Area Municipalities within Niagara Region, as shown below. |
Results
A geodatabase with eight (8) datasets that contained forty four (44) features within The Ohnia:kara Aspiring Global Geopark project to assist Geospatial Niagara. Metadata that describe the source, date created or updated, and abstract is available for each dataset and feature class.
The analysis and research have shown that more geosites and tourist infrastructure is to be found in the northern part of the Niagara region, whereas the southern part has a relatively small number of geosites and conservation areas. In-depth research allowed to identify the minerals within the region geologic formations and the geomorphology of the region. Using Network Analyst extension of the ArcGIS Desktop, it was possible to conduct Network Analysis in order to create Niagara Museums Route that would connect all available museums to one another in a single route, which can be used for tourism promotion in the future. Proximity Analysis was performed in order to get the distance between each geosite and nearest trail (either hiking or cycling). Overall, 10 maps were created for this project. Over 600 features were mapped: 121 geosites, 12 geological formations, 9 sediment deposits, 61 hiking and cycling trails, 70 festivals, 30 museums, 93 wineries, 5 distilleries, 16 breweries, 219 education institutions and 28 libraries.
Here are some example of work I've done. To expand the image, please click on it and map gallery will appear.
The analysis and research have shown that more geosites and tourist infrastructure is to be found in the northern part of the Niagara region, whereas the southern part has a relatively small number of geosites and conservation areas. In-depth research allowed to identify the minerals within the region geologic formations and the geomorphology of the region. Using Network Analyst extension of the ArcGIS Desktop, it was possible to conduct Network Analysis in order to create Niagara Museums Route that would connect all available museums to one another in a single route, which can be used for tourism promotion in the future. Proximity Analysis was performed in order to get the distance between each geosite and nearest trail (either hiking or cycling). Overall, 10 maps were created for this project. Over 600 features were mapped: 121 geosites, 12 geological formations, 9 sediment deposits, 61 hiking and cycling trails, 70 festivals, 30 museums, 93 wineries, 5 distilleries, 16 breweries, 219 education institutions and 28 libraries.
Here are some example of work I've done. To expand the image, please click on it and map gallery will appear.
Final Report
Project Management
Summarizing the data that are presented above, it can be seen that the actual cost is below the planned and earned values, which indicates that productivity of project team was high enough to complete this project successfully under the budget and on-schedule. Despite the difficulties in the middle of the timeline, the Earned value line at the same level as the Planned Value line shows that all tasks were completed as planned
We hope for the successful development of this project and the submission of the UNESCO Geopark application in the near future! Thank you Geospatial Niagara for the great opportunity to work on this project!
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