On September 12th, a keen and competent group of Quest University students from Colin Bates’ Plant Biodiversity course explored for plant species in East Marsh and nearby tidal flats in the Squamish Estuary. They were learning how to recognize various species at this time of year.
Quest tutors Colin Bates and Steve Quane have been mapping the Estuary at very high resolution and the students will be ground-truthing* some of the plant species. An important part of the course is that these students will design the project together, thinking through what is realistic, efficient and effective to do within the time available. This is an excellent time of year to minimize impact in the Estuary yet effectively carry out the research.
The Biodiversity Squamish project sponsored by the Squamish Environment Society is relevant to their research. It is great to see collaboration in action with this worthwhile initiative!
* Ground truth is a term used in cartography, meteorology, analysis of aerial photographs, satellite imagery and a range of other remote-sensing techniques in which data are gathered at a distance. Ground truth refers to information that is collected “on location”.
Judith Holm
Photo above courtesy of Colin Bates: Quest U Plant Biodiversity course, September 2018.
