EcoSpark has officially launched our new GeoHub! 

What is a GeoHub you ask? Great question. 

A GeoHub is a web-based platform where you view, explore and discover information about geographically based ideas and issues. EcoSpark is using our platform to share information about a variety of local environmental issues. If you took part in a Changing Currents session, you can find the results of your study on our Water Quality Dashboard! If you participated in one of our School Watch programs, check out our Biodiversity Dashboard! If you want to learn more about Ontario’s Greenbelt or invasive species, explore our story maps! 

EcoSpark’s GeoHub has plenty to offer for anyone looking to learn more about our programs as well as some of the natural spaces across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). You can find our great mapping applications here: https://ecospark-ecospark.hub.arcgis.com/ 

Mapping applications featured on our GeoHub include story maps, dashboards and web maps. 
Story maps combine geographic information and multimedia content such as written text, maps, videos, photos, links and other interactive tools that bring stories to life. Keep an eye out for navigation clues that explain how you can interact with different components of the story map. There’s the ↓ arrow to indicate that you can scroll down further, the 🛈 button to read the more detailed information, the ⇹ symbol that can be dragged right or left to change images and the underlined text that links to videos and larger images. Check out our story map on invasive species in the York Regional Forest here: https://arcg.is/1z5yCn1. Have fun and play around! Story maps are meant to be explored, just like the real world.

Geospatial Dashboards, like car dashboards, display important information about the world and map you are exploring. As you zoom in on different parts of the map, the dashboard automatically updates based on the information presented. Pay attention to legends ≔, which explain what data is on the map, as well as layers, which can be turned on or off to filter the data displayed. Click on dots to find out what they represent and watch the pop-up boxes for arrows 🠞 and numbers (3) indicating how many records are available for you to scroll through. Use the scroll bars on the right side of the box to see all the data displayed. Look for hyperlinks to images and click on “View” to see embedded data tables connected to the observation. Check out our Water Quality dashboard, which highlights many of our stream studies, here. In addition to dashboards, explore web maps such as our Tree Benefits web map here: https://arcg.is/yGyLO0 Explore and discover what dashboards and web maps have to offer. Don’t worry you won’t break it! 

The vision for EcoSpark’s GeoHub is that it will be an evolving geospatial application portal, constantly updating with new information and new mapping tools. If you have comments, ideas or feedback about our GeoHub please share them with us! We are always looking for new ways to bring data to life and expand environmental knowledge in communities throughout the GTA. Stay tuned for new mapping applications coming soon!

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.”

Arthur C. Clarke