On November 18, 2008 The BNGIS Centre in collaboration with Local Government (Abaco) and The Ministry of Education successfully hosted The Centre’s 2nd GIS User Conference in Marsh Harbour, Abaco. Apart of the Conference activities was the GIS Day School Competition. The first of its kind to be held in The Bahamas. The Competing schools including Abaco Central High, Moore’s Island All Aged School and S.C. Bootle High School.
The overall objective of the GIS Day Competition was to allow teachers and students to use GIS as a part of classroom activities especially in the area of Geography. For this competition, students under the supervision of their teachers were expected to collect data using GPS, analyse the data collected and create maps. Students were tasked with finding the best location for an activity centre within their school community
Students collected a variety of land use data, identified areas of the environment which required cleanup, located interesting features like blue holes, archaeological/historical sites, and hurricane shelters. The participants used both imagination and creative thinking while working through the project, which was evident as the students of Abaco Central High School proposed a new public bus route that would help to better serve the community as they found a deficiency in the existing system. Further, the students of Moore’s Island school realizing the importance of tourism to the economy of The Bahamas decided to GPS a nature trail leading to a pristine and scenic blue hole. At the site of the blue hole, the students suggested that an outdoor camping site be developed for the eco-tourists visiting the island.
Realizing the importance of safety during emergencies, the students of S.C. Bootle High School incorporated into the design of their activity centre the necessary specifications that would allow the building to be utilized as an emergency shelter. The students saw this as a critical component of their project as they viewed the current emergency shelters as ill equipped to handle the demands of the neighbouring communities.
At Abaco Central High School, Science Teacher, Mr. Nigel London, was tasked with the awesome responsibility of leading a team of approximately 15 students into the wide world of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). This combination of teacher and students attacked this competition with passion and a clear desire to win.
Although not required, the students went above Project requirements and created a 3D model of the proposed Activity Centre building. The presenters, Mr. Kenward Bethel and Mr. Raphael St. Hill, awed the audience with their knowledge of GIS and their obvious excitement of having worked on this project. Abaco Central High School left no stone unturned with their presentations and maps. Because of all the hard work, and the stunning presentations Abaco Central High was identified as the winners. Page 11 has a collage of Abaco Central High pictures taken during preparation for GIS Day and photos taken at the GIS Day Event.