As native pollinator species face threats from a range of disturbances, widespread native habitat augmentation is necessary to ensure adequate greenspaces, nectar/pollen sources, and host plants for solitary & migratory species. To mitigate these threats, John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI) founded Habitat Hero in 2022, a community science program that gives thousands of locally sourced native plants to residents each year. In 2024, research partners at Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI) began utilizing ArcGIS Online Applications (Survey123) to gather qualitative and quantitative spatial data from participants to understand how the program efforts are augmenting pollinator conservation efforts at a variety of scales. In accordance with the community-centered approach to Habitat Hero, results are shared publicly using Dashboards, Story Maps, and Experience Builder.
Over the last two years, Habitat Hero has expanded to more than a dozen partnering zoos and conservation organizations across eleven states – due largely to the power of GIS. As a scalable program that can easily be adapted to various geographic regions, Habitat Hero will surely continue to expand its reach and the amount of data (3,700+ responses, 20+ states [Inc. IL!]) collected along with it. This webinar will discuss various applications of GIS in Habitat Hero, the evolution of GIS products in response to changing needs and/or public response, and how they may carry over to your organizations. We will also explore the role of participatory GIS in community science efforts and the potential of GIS to engage with ‘non-traditional’ industries like zoos.
On the eve of our country’s 250th birthday, let’s take a look at how GIS can benefit the thousands of native pollinator and plant species across the (polli)-nation – our fluttering fathers!