Since February, Saskatchewan Polytechnic researchers and students have been using leading-edge technology to map natural features, landscape, flora and fauna in Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
"This is 747 acres of land, nearly the size of Central Park in New York," says Ian Hnatowich, natural resources manager at Wanuskewin Heritage Park Authority (WHPA).
The sacred Indigenous site has 6,400 years of documented history, and a partnership between Sask Polytech and Wanuskewin aims to make the area more accessible to the general public using the latest digital mapping, geospatial data analysis and visualization techniques.
"It's an opportunity to engage in meaningful community work, helping communities tell their stories while establishing relationships. It's rewarding work," says Dr. Abdul Raouf, research chair at Sask Polytech's Sustainability-Led Integrated Centres of Excellence (SLICE) and project lead.
The three-year research project is funded through the College and Community Social Innovation Fund through Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The first year of the project in partnership with WHPA centred on data collection. Geographic Information Science (GIS) students worked on four capstone projects, including capturing the trails through 360-degree cameras to create immersive VR models of the paths in different seasons. These visualizations weren't just for show, they helped students analyze trail difficulty, informing improved signage for visitors.
"It's important information from a visitation point of view, it allows people to choose a more challenging trail or an easy trail," Raouf says.
Using GIS, photogrammetry and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), also known as drone technology, students mapped the trails and developed interactive digital maps for display in the second capstone project.
"I'm really excited about taking this 360-degree imagery and incorporating the knowledge and stories that our Elders gift us into these story maps so people can have both a visual and auditory experience of the park," says Hnatowich.
In addition to showcasing the beauty of the land, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and multispectral imaging allowed researchers to analyze how topography is changing over time. The third capstone project classifies the different terrains in the park and can be used in the future to help determine where potential floods would be located if the creek overflows.
The impact of the fourth capstone project is two-fold, increasing awareness of Indigenous ways of knowing and identifying invasive plants that need to be removed from the park to benefit the ecosystem.
A student researcher has been going to the park twice a week to take images and complete data collection. The information has already benefited the park. The maps of beaver dams in the area were used to install pond levelers to help control waterflow. The team is also using the data collected to collaborate with WHPA on identifying traditional uses of the plants in Indigenous communities by learning from Elders and studying research papers.
Identifying plants and where they're found is particularly important for land management.
"Some of the invasive plants are as small as grass, while others are large bushes. What they have in common is they cause harm to the local species," says Raouf.
Adds Hnatowich, "We are in an environment that's critically threatened. We need to develop very specific management plans for each one of those invasive species and then analyze if our management actions have the impact that we want."
Hnatowich is pleased to work with Sask Polytech students and researchers.
"To have Sask Polytech share their experience and very sophisticated tools is invaluable," he says. "It allows us to focus on our most critical issues while simultaneously collecting data to track how we're doing and start making plans for issues that are going to arise in the future."
WHPA is applying to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. As the applied research project is ongoing and continues to develop, Hnatowich hopes the results will benefit future international visitors.
"This project is expected to impact the overall way people experience Wanuskewin," he says. "We are looking forward to individuals being able to explore Wanuskewin at their own pace in person or virtually in their own home countries. This place has a story that needs to be told through more avenues."
Raouf's work continues. In early October, his team collected more imagery to capture the beauty of the natural setting in the fall. They will focus on bringing everything together this winter.
"That's when we sit on the computer and sift through what we have collected to determine what imagery we can generate out of it," he says, adding he's grateful for the team. "Support and encouragement are crucial. We keep each other motivated."
SLICE is based in Sask Polytech's Faculty of Technology and Skilled Trades. SLICE's vision is to advance sustainability in Saskatchewan and beyond through collaborative applied research for the benefit of our economy, environment, society and future generations.
Learn more about applied research at saskpolytech.ca/research.
Learn more about Wanuskewin Heritage Park at wanuskewin.com.
For more information
400 - 119 4th Avenue South
Saskatoon Saskatchewan
Canada S7K 5X2
www.saskpolytech.ca
