6 June 2014 | Comments
Recently arriving to the Island was Samantha Cherrett, Environment and Natural Resources’ (ENRD) new Environmental Data and GIS Manager (Geographical Information Systems), here for 18 months.
Samantha began work on Thursday 29 May 2014, and immediately went out on the boat to begin work on the Marine Mapping project. Samantha’s role will be to collect marine data, analyse it and present it in a more visual way.
Samantha commented:
“Instead of seeing spreadsheet after spreadsheet, it is a lot easier to understand if the data is translated to a visual representation. This can be done for data collected in the past, now and in the future.”
Samantha will be working alongside the current GIS section within ENRD – which mainly focuses on mapping data for the infrastructure needs of the Island. Samantha’s key focus is marine data collection and analysis, utilising the expertise of the Marine Section, particularly on the significance of collected data.
Looking ahead, Samantha hopes to turn raw information into something useful, so anyone from within St Helena Government or members of the public can pick up an environmental GIS map and understand it. After the Marine Mapping project, the Environmental Data and GIS Manager will transfer her skills to wider environmental data collection on the Island, assessing soil quality and the geographical distribution of species such as insects.
Samantha has a Geological Degree, and experience of working with her local council. More recently, she worked with a consultant engineering company, carrying out GIS environmental impact assessments.
Before arriving to St Helena, Samantha underwent training on the mapping software used on the Island.
SHG
6 June 2014
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