BOOTS ON THE GROUND: DEVELOPING "VIRTUAL" FIELD GUIDES OF THE NATIONAL PARKS AND NATURE AREAS OF BERMUDA

Over the past four decades Colby College has had a long standing off campus study program on Bermuda. As a result of this program an extremely good working relationship has developed between the Bermuda Museum, Aquarium and Zoo and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the college. One of our long term collaborative programs has been the development of virtual field guides for the many National Parks and Nature Reserves on Bermuda.

Our program on Bermuda requires a field component involving research and exploration. We begin the program at Colby and includes lectures, laboratories and student presentations so all have a good understanding of the natural history of Bermuda prior. We then travel to Bermuda for the field session. Recently, students have been involved in the development of field guides in sites that preserve aspects of the natural history of the island. Originally, our outcome was a publication. However, we quickly realized that the majority of residents and visitors could access the data using hand held smart phones.

To take advantage of this resource, students began field investigation by visiting the larger parks and reserves on Bermuda for reconnaissance. They made use of hand held GPS units and began mapping the trails. In the process they also created waypoints of noteworthy locations such as caves, sinkholes, soil horizons, beaches and other features. Students also took note of the most abundant types of plants in the area. Digital images were also taken for documentation.

In conclusion of the project, the trails were downloaded to Google Earth and the digital images were used to create placemarks of the features in the park. We are currently working to make story maps using ArcGIS to compliment the guides created using Google Earth. Finally, we are looking for a suitable location to house the guides to make them accessible. This collaborative effort between scientists on Bermuda and students at Colby has provided a great learning opportunity for all involved.