2019 – Renewable Resource Project Map

Title: Renewable Resource and Urban Heat Island Remote Sensing Analysis Poster

Description: In 1998 Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory indicated that there is potential for heat island reduction strategies to decrease air temperature in Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA. Energy savings studies also indicate that Baton Rouge can reduce energy use and carbon emissions by lowering urban temperatures as determined in the Baton Rouge Urban Heat Island Report.

The presented urban heat island study in this poster were conducted during the summer of 2018 to coincide with Park Forest Middle School's Renewable Resource theme.

Middle school students were introduced to GIS over one week in Maps and Apps for Youth, a summer GIS program where fifteen students learned and applied GIS skills using the Collector for ArcGIS app. Near the end of the program, the students at Park Forest Middle School campus were divided into two work groups and collected 196 data points of the temperature of land covers: vegetation, roofing material and impervious surfaces (asphalt and concrete). Graphics of their results (shown on the poster), identified areas contributing to the urban heat island around the school!

Using this information, Hunter Gravois analyzed the effectiveness of solar panels in reducing energy costs and in cooling the building. His conclusions are shown. Now, with the launching of our second Industry Based Certification, Drones to Smart Maps, students will learn how to map roofing material using drones to collect the thermal imagery data. This information was previously unattainable by youth with our current equipment, a Cen-Tech Thermometer (shown on the poster).