Crafting conservation stories

The most important advice is to begin and do your best to create your own story. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is taking the first step.

Peter is a first-year PhD student in the  Applied and Landscape Ecology  program at the Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences,  Mendel University  in Brno in the Czech Republic.

As a part of his doctoral work, Peter integrates GIS and laboratory methods to study wind erosion. His greatest interest lies in GIS and remote sensing.

About his academic experience, Peter says: "While our university is not the largest in the Czech Republic, it is home to highly skilled experts, particularly within our department. These professionals boast extensive experience and an acute eye for detail. They are always ready to lend a helping hand or share their expertise with others."

His student story,  Wind Erosion , won the 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition in Track 2 for science-focused narratives.

How did you first come to combine storytelling with GIS and spatial analysis?

The first time I encountered place-based storytelling was when I was exploring new functionalities from Esri, specifically those related to new ArcGIS online services. The ArcGIS StoryMaps product looked outstanding, and they had, and still have, amazing functionality for creating interactive content that will be interesting for readers. When I saw this service for the first time, I knew that it was the only way to create complex content that wouldn’t be boring, and I believe that it still is.

How did you find out about the competition and what motivated you to participate in it?

I discovered the competition while researching technical information about ArcGIS StoryMaps. The competition was the first thing I stumbled upon, and it turned out to be the most captivating cartographic competition I’ve ever encountered. I never imagined there would be an international cartographic competition like the  ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition  with such extensive participation. It provides an excellent platform for connecting with people. When I saw the competition, I was amazed and wanted to create an outstanding story to showcase my work to an international audience.

What would you say  Wind Erosion  is really about?

My competition story presents a comprehensive analysis and methodology focused on wind erosion, including strategies for managing risks associated with this issue.

It provides a practical demonstration of real-world results in the form of interactive map applications, enabling users to explore the area with addressed issues in 2D and 3D with enhanced functionality, animations, and graphs. The story immerses the reader, providing them with interesting and educationally rich content.

The story comes from real research and the data is useful for practical applications and realizations. The data can be used by local farmers, project planners, organizations, and anyone who has an interest in protecting the soil or designing windbreaks. Also, the story demonstrates that the projection of windbreaks can be optimized according to soil loss due to wind, saving both money and, more importantly, the land.

Once you had your idea for  Wind Erosion , how did you bring it to life? What did your storytelling process looking like, and how did you make decisions about narrative, visuals, and design?

The entire process of creating the story was quite demanding because I used a lot of data and various visualization methods. In addition to that, the whole process was carried out using applications and software from the Esri company. The story is not only about the design but also encompasses the entire process of data preparation. I understand that design is a key factor in the success of a story, but without quality data, there is no story. The creation of the story, from behind the scenes, involved the collection of data in the field, laboratory work, and data analysis.

For better data visualization, I chose to use 3D scenes and animations. The 3D scenes are mostly combined with 2D maps with interactions between each other. Each map is interactive and includes real information about the areas.

The design was inspired by nature. I wanted to establish a connection between the story and nature because the main focus of my story is on nature. Therefore, in the design of the story, you can find elements such as the hexagonal shape, which was inspired by a bee’s honeycomb.

How did ArcGIS StoryMaps allow you to tell your story in a way traditional methodologies could not?

My biggest goal for the story was to evoke a unique experience in people. I believe that the most attention is, and will continue to be, given to unique things that evoke feelings in people.

From my point of view, stories made with ArcGIS StoryMaps connect traditional methods with new technologies such as 3D maps and interactive maps. ArcGIS StoryMaps offer many options for using interactive elements in the story. This connection is very important for creating complex and very attractive stories for readers.

Traditional methods do not allow you to combine interactive elements, but I think the main advantage is the combination of maps in the story that can help readers visualize the location and the area. So, StoryMaps gave me multiple options on how to make the story interactive and provide the readers with a unique experience.

What is your favorite feature in the ArcGIS StoryMaps builder to work with?

I cannot single out just one feature because I like most of them. However, I can confidently say that working with the map is the greatest advantage of this service. I like the entire ecosystem and the connections between all the applications and software from Esri, such as  ArcGIS Pro ,  ArcGIS Online ,  ArcGIS Field Maps , and  ArcGIS StoryMaps . This is something unique and amazing in the world of cartography.

ArcGIS StoryMaps is the best service for creating unique interactive stories that can engage people. I hope that more features will be added to this service in the future because I believe it has a great potential. It can become even bigger and smarter than it is now.

What was the biggest challenge in your storytelling process? 

The biggest challenge was the work behind the scenes, specifically the collection of data. Another challenge was using this data to create something understandable and attractive for different types of people. There are many stories that are unnecessarily complicated and boring for people. I must say that I do not enjoy reading those stories, so I tried to make my story different.

What advice would you give to other storytellers?

Try to be original, and don’t be afraid to use new things and technology.

The most important advice is to begin and do your best to create your own story. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is taking the first step.

What are some other projects you’re excited about incorporating ArcGIS StoryMaps into?

In the future, I would like to focus more on remote sensing, specifically satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore, my next work will integrate remote sensing with AI. Additionally, I am beginning to work with virtual reality and more extensively with 3D visualizations.

I am open to cooperation. If anyone would like to collaborate with me, please contact me through the contact information at the end of  Wind Erosion ,

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Erosion, in general, is a very serious and often overlooked problem. I would like to ask everyone to reflect on the issues associated with the erosion.

Erosion occurs all over the world, but in some places, it causes irreversible consequences. At the moment, erosion is greatly amplified by human activities, especially our management of fields as well as environmental modifications. Soil is not replaceable indefinitely. While it's true that soil naturally regenerates, the loss of soil due to erosion far outweighs the natural increase. Even though soil is a natural basic component that we can find everywhere, it’s very important to realize that without it, nature and populations are lost.

Please try to think about the future.