Monthly Archive

High-tech solutions saving time, money for conservation authority

July 29, 2019 – Custom-built smartphone apps are changing the way staff at Rideau Valley Conservation Authority get their work done – and saving time, money and headaches in the process.

This spring, the RVCA launched its latest app, this one for classifying shorelines – something no other conservation group is doing digitally.

Gone are the bulky clipboards and windswept papers of previous surveys. And vanquished are the days of tedious data entry after a long season on the water.

These days, with the tap of an app staff can quickly analyze a shoreline, take a photo and input all the relevant data into a digital database, all from the palm of their hand – and from the middle of a river.

"It's amazing," said Adrienne Lewis, an aquatic resource technician with RVCA for the past 11 years. "It's fast and easy. We don't even have to label our photos, because we take them inside the app. We've eliminated 40 to 60 pieces of paper each day."

In-house GIS/database specialist Chris Czerwinski took the survey's old paper field form and turned it into a custom-made digital data chart using the platform Survey123.

This summer, as Adrienne heads down the river with a student by her side, she assesses shoreline conditions from her smartphone, ticking boxes in the app to make note of erosion, invasive species, vegetation and other factors that contribute to water quality and shoreline health.

The data is uploaded to the cloud, offering real-time results from the field and eliminating the need for manual data entry – and reducing the opportunity for human errors by half. The data is then easily formatted to inform RVCA programs and decisions.

It's a huge time savings.

"We've taken the workflow from the field and emulated that in the app," Chris said. "This survey project was supposed to take two years and they're going to finish it in one season. That speaks to the efficiency of the new process."

The RVCA has come a long way in a short time when it comes to tech.

"I built the RVCA's first app in 2013, and it was fairly novel at the time," Chris said.

But by today's standards, that first app is downright quaint: it ran on a GPS-equipped handheld device that could run a Windows operating system that's no longer even supported.

​Since then, the RVCA has developed five different mobile apps to improve workflow in the field, assisting staff with water quality monitoring, aquatic insects sampling, shoreline classification, septic re-inspection, and forestry site visits.

"Ten years ago, everything was done on paper," Chris said. "Now, the amount of technology we use is amazing. It has exponentially driven workflows up."

The demand for mobile app solutions is so great, he's having to manage staff expectations: there's only so much that can be developed at once.

"Staff always want more, because they can see the benefits," he said. "There's so much more to come."

Collaboration is key

Conservation authorities across the province are all taking up the tech trend, developing apps for all manner of monitoring and tracking programs they run every day to promote healthy watersheds.

And with tight budgets and stretched staff, sharing has been caring. A key benefit of the new technology is the ability to share workflows with other conservation authorities and environmental groups. Chris shares what he creates and borrows from others. This saves time and effort for all the groups, because no one's reinventing the wheel.

This winter, for example, Chris will borrow the bones of a snowpack measuring app developed by Quinte Conservation and tweak it to suit the RVCA's needs – no need to create his own.

It's especially easy to collaborate when the apps are for monitoring programs that follow international, national or provincial data collection protocols. If everyone's following the same process with the same data criteria, a customized app can be used by any protocol partner, Chris said.

And the potential for new apps and digital solutions is endless.

"When I think where we'll be in five years, it's incredible," Chris said. 

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Stay safe this summer: stay on the trails!

July 19, 2019 – It’s a great time to be outdoors, but be aware: certain pests and poisonous plants are getting in on the action, too.

As you hit the trails, remember to stay on the path and dress appropriately to protect against ticks, poison ivy, wild parsnip and other hazards.

Ticks:

Black-legged ticks are on the rise in Eastern Ontario and can carry Lyme disease, which is passed to humans through tick bites. Left untreated, Lyme can cause chronic neurological and physical problems including memory loss, mobility issues and heart conditions.

But don’t let that keep you inside! Reasonable precautions should prevent most tick bites. When you’re in the woods, stay on the path, wear long pants and sleeves, tuck your pants into your socks and use bug spray with DEET or picaridin. A quick sweep of your clothes with a sticky lint roller before you go home will help catch errant ticks. When you get home, do a thorough tick check of your entire body, including in your armpits, groin area, behind your ears and along hairlines.

If you do find a tick attached, remove it as soon as possible. Contact your doctor if the tick looks engorged or you think has been attached for a long time, to see if you need antibiotics.

If the tick was attached for less than 24 hours and its body does not appear swollen from feeding, you should still be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease for the next 32 days. If you do develop symptoms, see a doctor.

Poisonous plants:

Poison ivy, wild parsnip and giant hogweed all have a presence in Eastern Ontario, lining roadside ditches, taking over empty fields and popping up along nature trails and woodlots.

Touching these plants or their sap can result in painful skin rashes and burns, particularly wild parsnip, which is sun-activated and can cause severe burns and even blindness in extreme cases.

Wear long pants and sleeves, close-toed shoes and socks. The sap from these plants can contaminate your clothes, so be careful when undressing and handling your clothes after an outing.

If you do come in contact with the plants, wash the area with soapy water and stay out of the sun. If the sap gets in your eyes, wash immediately and contact a doctor.

Of course, it’s important to know what to look for so you can avoid these issues altogether.

Poison ivy is perhaps the best known of the three plants. It can grow between 10 and 80 centimetres high, and its leaves range from 8 to 55 millimetres long. Poison ivy leaves feature three pointed leaflets – usually toothed – with the middle leaf being much longer. The leaves are reddish in the spring, turn green in the summer, and become various shades of yellow, orange, or red in the fall. The plant produces clusters of cream to yellow-green flowers.

Wild parsnip can grow up to 1.5 metres tall, with a thick, smooth stem topped with green-yellow flowers forming clusters up to 20 centimetres across.

Giant hogweed looks similar to wild parsnip but grows up to five metres tall in some cases. Its white flowers are clustered in groups between 30 and 90 centimetres across, and its thick stem often features prominent purple blotches.

Remember: There’s so much to see and do in the Rideau Valley watershed – don’t let these spoilsports get in your way! Take precautions, stay on the path and, most importantly, have fun.

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