This program, supported by a grant from the National Geographic Society Education Foundation, trained students at two central Arizona high schools to use GIS technology and apply it to issues that affect their communities. Students used GIS to explore aspects of their own environment and human impacts upon it. After learning basic GIS skills by engaging in hands-on training exercises, students developed their own research questions. They investigated relationships between demography and business locations in the Phoenix metropolitan area, studied environmental hazards such as wildfires, explored how land use and population density affect climate, and used GIS to produce maps to illustrate their findings. Click here to see samples of student projects.

The program aimed specifically to serve Native American and Hispanic students. Over 100 students in science classes at Tempe and Salt River Pima-Maricopa High Schools were involved in the program during 2005-06. The program is ongoing at Salt River Pima-Maricopa High School, where students are involved in two projects using GIS. In a joint effort with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Tribe’s Environmental Protection of Natural Resources division, students are conducting research on the effect of the invasion of salt cedars trees on the soil chemistry of the Salt River riparian ecosystem. They are comparing the proliferation of salt cedars, their locations, and their effects on river chemistry and biota between the Salt River watershed and that of the Verde River. Students will use GIS to present their findings on maps. This is a pioneer project that the school hopes to continue in years ahead. Students are also involved in a weather ballooning project with Northern Arizona University. They will participate in two launches that take payloads, designed by the students to take photographs and weather variable data, to an altitude of nearly 100,000 feet. Students will use GPS to track the flight and descent of the balloons.

SCENE offers resources to high school teachers in Maricopa County who are interested in using GIS to investigate the local environment with their students. Teachers with a project idea should email kkyle@asu.edu for information. Opportunities to use GIS in original research projects are offered to individual students through SCENE’s Research Experiences for High School Students program.

Student GIS Projects

Students at this high school on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation near Scottsdale, Arizona live in a rural enclave amidst one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Student research questions reflect the students’ interest in why certain kinds of businesses and services characteristic of large cities are located where they are. At the time these projects were done, the tribe was making plans for a new commercial center on the reservation and soliciting input from tribal members about what kinds of businesses should be included. Fourteen students worked on four different teams to investigate the following questions:

Is there a relationship between the locations of up-scale resorts and expensive restaurants in the Phoenix metro area? .swf (Need Flash to view)

Does population density affect the location of movie theater chains in Phoenix and the East Valley area? .swf

In Maricopa County, how are population density and land use related to the locations of casinos? .swf

Is there a relationship between the location of cemeteries and convenience stores? .swf

Tempe High School

Three classes of 9th and 10th grade students at this inner-city high school undertook a variety of research projects to investigate environmental hazards and human impacts upon the environment. Students in the 9th-grade honors biology class presented their projects at a symposium at the high school. Below are two samples of their work.

Do Fires Increase as Temperatures Increase? .swf

How Does Temperature Compare Between Urban and Rural Areas in Arizona? .swf