Crafting conservation stories

We’ve tried to keep up with the fast-moving world of GIS and, in particular, ArcGIS Online so we can get these tools into the hands of the organizations that really need them.

Katie Gaut started  Blue Water GIS  fourteen years ago and was later joined by her husband, Mark Thompson, to tell compelling stories using data and beautiful maps. Katie and Mark are both biologists and have a strong understanding of data, science, and communication.

Two indispensable storytellers, Olivia Hobson and Amanda Huber, round out their team at Blue Water GIS. 

Together they created an interactive story,  Ambassadors of the Amazon: River Dolphins and Ramsar Sites Provide Hope For Cross-Boundary Conservation , with the National Geographic Society and Omacha Foundation. The story, available in  English  and  Spanish , took home the blue ribbon in Track 2 of the 2023 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition.

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

We saw the need for a place-based storytelling platform when ArcGIS StoryMaps was released years ago.

Our clients, especially conservation groups, often have limited budgets. With ArcGIS StoryMaps, we can combine their existing geospatial data — an important part of their field work — with narrative and media in one platform. This fills a gap and results in beautiful products that could otherwise be difficult for smaller groups to create.

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

We submit stories to the competition each year. It’s a great way to get our clients' great work in front of new eyes and ears. 

What would you say  Ambassadors of the Amazon  is really about?

Transnational conservation.

The story, and the Omacha Foundation’s research, takes place where three countries and multiple habitats in the Amazon meet. Within the region, the dolphins use the rivers and flooded forests freely and cross national boundaries based on their needs. Their movements offer a powerful and much-needed message for humans about cooperation across borders and political divides to save the ecosystem and benefit everyone.

Once you had your idea for  Ambassadors of the Amazon , 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?

It was truly a team effort.

We had the privilege of working with the  National Geographic Society  and the  Omacha Foundation  on this story. And much of the credit goes to Scott Elder and Martin Gamache at National Geographic and Fernando Trujillo at Omacha Foundation.

They provided a treasure trove of photos and videos that were captured on site. We worked together to draft the outline, fine-tune the narrative, and ensure appropriate media placement at each turn.

The Omacha Foundation also has, for years, built relationships with local communities and relied on local voices to inform conservation research and decision making. Those voices helped to shape the story.

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

Maps! ArcGIS StoryMaps offers a seamless flow among media, narrative, and maps that we haven’t found with any other platform.

For Ambassadors of the Amazon, it was important to present dolphin habitat and uses through time and spatial elements. Two ArcGIS StoryMaps capabilities enabled this data visualization. The timelapse animation, a display of telemetry points from tagged dolphins, highlights movement of the males and females over time.

And through  map actions , readers interact with the story directly to view male or female movements within their shared habitat. Map actions encourage reader engagement and provide some “choose your own adventure” avenues.

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

The  map tour  interactive block has been a recent favorite for the Blue Water GIS team. It’s a great way to pack a lot of geospatial information into a tight space. And it encourages readers to explore data points at their own pace.

What's the biggest challenge in your storytelling process? 

It's always a challenge to keep stories compact and focused.

There’s an abundance of great information for each story — and so much to say. But these stories are often best as a short-form introduction to the bigger project and client's website and resources. With that in mind, we balance when and where reader interaction is appropriate and useful, and when a solid, static, author-choreographed section is preferred.

What advice would you give to other storytellers?

We recommend a regular browse through the ArcGIS StoryMap gallery, especially the past years’ competition finalists, and gain inspiration from others. There’s so much amazing inspiration out there to spark the next great story!  

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

We have some great stories lined up this year about  PFAS Contamination in Washington’s Groundwater , Coral Restoration on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and New England Wilderness Conservation.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

We’d love to thank National Geographic Society and the Omacha Foundation for reaching out to us and trusting their story in our hands. Also, a huge thanks to Fernando Trujillo and the rest of the team at Omacha Foundation for dedicating their lives to protecting not just the river dolphins, but the greater Amazon ecosystem that’s critical for so many species, our own included.