Mapping Flood Risks and Solutions: A Geospatial Analysis Workshop For Middle and High School Students in Pinellas County, FL

This summer workshop engaged middle and high school students from marginalized communities in Pinellas County in learning about the processes involved in flooding (infiltration/runoff relationship; the role of impervious surfaces) and their relationship to climate change and sea level rise (SLR). The hands-on STEM workshop emphasized the causes of inland and coastal flooding, the likelihood of flooding increase, and the potential hazards of flooding and possible risk mitigation strategies. Students conducted field work in areas known to experience localized flooding in the Midtown area of St. Petersburg; they recorded GPS locations and collected field notes on landscape features. Students created photographic records of field sites. In the Geospatial Analytics Lab at USFSP, students used high resolution aerial imagery to digitize landscape features, especially impervious surfaces around the sites. These field data were overlaid with GIS data layers (including storm-water systems) to assess infrastructure needs and make recommendations (e.g. to increase pervious surfaces or address weaknesses in storm water drainage systems). Students created maps with all data in GIS layers for specific field sites for which they were responsible. Students then created posters for their specific sites displaying their data, maps and photos, and presented the posters to county and city water managers and decision-makers in a public forum. Students suggested solutions to specific flooding problems in their neighborhood. Parents and representatives of various city agencies and departments of the City of St. Petersburg, private environmental consulting firms, and Pinellas County water management professionals, were present for the student presentations