Lyndon State College Professor John DeLeo, a certified Geographic Information Systems Professional, spent a week in Costa Rica in November training students and faculty at the Costa Rican School for Field Studies (SFS) in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. DeLeo and his students have been working with the SFS since 2003 to create detailed maps that will help develop an environmentally sensitive land-use plan for the region.
The maps chart such uses as conservation, agriculture and human habitation. In Volcan Poas National Park, he consulted on trail mapping, for example. In Braulia Carrillo and Carara National Parks, the subject was the impact of road disturbance on wildlife. In the protected zones of Atena, he consulted on the gathering of spatial data for use in carbon sequestration footprints and environmental services provided by coffee farms under different strategies of management and the evaluation of the status of springs used as a source of potable water.
SFS Center Director Dr. Ferardo Avalos said of DeLeo’s work, “These are different applications of GIS technology that our students are able to apply thanks to the combined efforts of Dr. John DeLeo and our faculty. This experience goes above and beyond the application of a type of technology or a skill. The data generated by this process will help local clients solve practical and complex issues, improving the long-term sustainability of resource use and bio-diversity protection.”
In April, Deleo will return to Costa Rica with four Lyndon students for five days. The group will help SFS students and faculty gather spatial data that will help the school plan a sustainable development model for the region. This model will address such areas of concern as limits of acceptable change, development and sprawl, best agricultural practices for local crops and the monitoring of carbon sequestration rates by land cover type.
To prepare, the Lyndon students are creating a spatial data set of the region’s land cover and land use. The map is being built from Costa Rican topographic maps created in 1989, which are at a scale of 1:10,000. The idea behind the Lyndon students’ efforts is to provide a historical record in the form of a digital base map. The second phase of this project will be to use recent remote-sensed data, either in the form of satellite imagery or infra red aerial photos, to create an up-to-date land-cover and land-use map. Using some sophisticated software, before and after maps will be analyzed for change, which will provide a critical spatial data layer to the overall sustainable development project.
Costa Rica has set aside a larger portion of its land in parks and other protected areas than any other country in the world. The country boasts 32 national parks, eight biological reserves, 13 forest reserves and 51 wildlife refuges. DeLeo’s work is helping a nation already committed to conservation and the environment to successfully manage the land for future generations.
Lindsey Bilger, PA joins Central Vermont Primary Care
Berlin, Vt -- Lindsey Bilger, PA recently joined Central Vermont Primary Care, a Cental Vermont Medical Center group, located on Granger Roadin Berlin.
Lindsey graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Department of Biology and
cum laude from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado where she received her Bachelor of Science. She studied for her Certificate as a Physician Assistant at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and was awarded her certificate by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. She is certified in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Lindsey is currently working on her Master of Science degree.
“I’m excited that we are growing the practice and looking forward to focusing on women’s health and family health here in central Vermont,”said Lindsey. “Vermont is a lot like Colorado, where I grew up. Right now I’m a downhill skier and I like to hike and spend time in the gym,” she continued. I’m also planning to take up cross country skiing this winter.”