Centre for Sustainable Watersheds and DM Solutions Group Watersheds InfoXchange Leveraging Open Source GIS Software in a Non-Profit Organization presented by Mark Sunohara June 9, 2004 Open Source GIS Conference

Presentation Outline  Common Thinking  Centre for Sustainable Watersheds (CSW)  Open Source Solutions in Daily Observations  WIX History and Objectives  WIX Applications  Benefits of CGDI  Leveraging CGDI-endorsed / OpenGIS Specifications  Old and new paradigms

Common Thinking -Community is key “Community groups can be effective participants in integrated water resources management but require support and guidance” Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network CO  Canadian Community Monitoring Network Canada Stewardship Agenda  National framework endorsed by several federal and provincial agencies National Watershed Stewardship Coalition  Discussion of provincial representatives of watershed stewardship across the country

Common Recommendations Improve access to data for all watershed stakeholders and facilitate data management for community participants  Cost-effective and accessible, using coordinated approach to meet needs of all stakeholders  Data sharing networks available through the Internet, free of charge  Data needs to be of high quality – promote standardized protocols, develop support and expertise for training and data verification

Centre for Sustainable Watersheds  CSW evolved out of established lake association  Non-government, non-profit organization formed to facilitate community participation in watershed stewardship  Fosters cooperative approaches to water resource protection by cross-linking among various agencies  Sustains effective partnerships between Government and Community through communication and cooperation  Links partners to maximize use of limited resources, improve communications, and help build consistency among programs

Our Objectives 1. Develop and promote shared responsibility for water resource protection  Explore roles of community and government 2. Assist community participation in water resource protection  Support for community level program delivery  Data management tools, stewardship training and resources  Networking and learning/engagement opportunities 3. Improve understanding of watershed dynamics  Watershed processes and impacts

Community Based Monitoring CSW has Experience in:  Working with a network of environmental resource partners  Coordinating “Lake Links”, a Community of Practice of Lake associations, community groups, and small environmental organizations  Information sharing: meetings, website, , workshops  Data collection and management  Access to data and data sharing  Status reporting

 Alignment with Open Source Model of communal interest  Lower total cost of ownership than proprietary  Resources towards H/W instead of S/W  No adversarial relationship between vendor and client  Active User’s Groups exchanging experiences  Functionality can continue to improve Open Source in Our Daily Operations

Linux Servers  Web and File Services  Apache, PHP  Databases  PostgreSQL  Project Collaboration  Tiki Wiki Open Source in Our Daily Operations

Desktop Workstations - OpenOffice Open Source in Our Daily Operations

Desktop Workstations - - Ximian Evolution Open Source in Our Daily Operations

Desktop Workstations – Web Browsers - Mozilla Open Source in Our Daily Operations

JUMP - Digitization of Shoreline Inventory Open Source Desktop GIS Solutions

OpenEV - Visualization of Imagery

Open Source Web Mapping Solutions Custom Web mapping solutions  Spatially-enabled Internet application  Compliance with Open Standards  Interoperability with other Organizations Keeping it simple for the user  Needed to handle the mapping logic behind the scenes  Share common geographic data and Web structure

Watersheds InfoXchange (WIX)  A community-driven web-based mapping and database application that will help engage community group participation in monitoring  WIX will allow community groups to input, manage and view monitoring and stewardship data via the Internet  Provide cost-effective model for access and management of community group information  Guide effective community group monitoring strategies  Follow government-approved data collection programs protocols and standards

WIX Applications Water Quality Monitoring  Ontario Ministry of Environment Lake Partner Program Fisheries Populations  Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Volunteer Angler Diary Environmental Health  Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network NatureWatch program Communication and Sharing among Stewardship and Monitoring Groups  Ontario Stewardship Organization Information

Open Standards and Specifications Optimal Interoperability through OpenGIS® (OGC) Compliance:  MapServer - OGC compliant WMS and WMS client  GeoServer – OGC compliant WFS-T  PostGIS/PostgreSQL – OGC compliant spatial database  Chameleon – PHP/Mapscript – access to all OGC Standards  Styled Layer Descriptors – cartographic presentation  Filter Encoding – control of feature selection and presentation  Web Map Context – XML description of WMS data  Geography Markup Language – data transport and storage  CGDI Gazetteer Services - lookup services, gazetteers  Discovery Services - Z39.50 Metadata Search and Retrieval Services

Benefits of the CGDI to WIX 1. WIX provides on-line access to community-collected geospatial data, information and services  Increases awareness of community efforts  Better access to quality community-collected information for more effective decision-making Leveraging CGDI-endorsed Specifications  GeoData Discovery Service - Z39.50 Metadata Search and Retrieval Services  MapServer - OGC compliant Transactional Web Map Service  GeoServer – OGC compliant Transactional Web Feature Service

View Thematic Maps of Community and Government Data Communicate with Others Involved with Monitoring Enter and View Monitoring Data

2. WIX enables community to integrate and standardize their data into a common national framework  Leverages a standards-based approach  Improves quality of and access to community data Leveraging CGDI-endorsed Specifications  MapServer - OGC compliant Web Map Service and WMS client  CWC2 - Chameleon – PHP/Mapscript – access to all OGC Standards Benefits of the CGDI to WIX

Support for Developing Monitoring Strategies Manage Monitoring Sites Add new sites View existing sites

Lookup Services Find /Add locations  Watersheds  Postal Codes  NTS Map sheets  Place names Use Gazetteer Services to Help Find Locations Use Mapping Tools to Pinpoint Locations for Observations Input Metadata on Locations – avoids duplication

Enter Collected Data and Have it Validated

3. WIX enables community to increase the use and application of geo-info  Provides cost-effective model for access and management of community information Leveraging CGDI-endorsed Specifications  CGDI Gazetteer Services  Filter Encoding – controls feature selection and presentation Benefits of the CGDI to WIX

Gazetteer Service to Help Locate and Extract Spatially Specific Data

4. WIX enables partnerships between government and community  Community can capitalize on collective expertise  Uses existing and reusable services  Facilitates a coordinated model for sustainable governance of shared resources  Facilitates networking  Easily integrate and function with other groups Benefits of the CGDI to WIX

Query Tools to help pinpoint Data Make Custom Tables Create Charts Download Data

5. WIX simplifies the use of geo-info for community  Minimum GIS Expertise required  No need for GIS software, only Internet access  Provides standards and protocols  Supports the necessary distributed data model, providing access to government data  Easily integrates multiple WMS data sources into a seamless view Benefits of the CGDI to WIX

Thematic Mapping to Support Users Simple Mapping Tools Makes it Easier for Users

Old Paradigm ` COMMUNITY Resources required GIS expertise data expertise locating data data sharing agreements compiling data locating standards metadata WIX OGDE NRCan DFO EC AgCan StatsHealth MNR Parks

OGDE NRCan DFO EC AgCan StatsHealth MNR Parks CGDI Paradigm WIX ` COMMUNITY ` ` CGDI Access Frameworks Standards Policy Technology & Innovation

In Summary  Open Source software improves the ability of Community to be effective participants in integrated water resources management  CSW is developing WIX to provide support and guidance for community groups to input, manage environmental monitoring data via the Internet  WIX follows CGDI-endorsed specifications and OGC specifications for optimal interoperability  WIX is being developed through collaborative, cost- efficient partnerships

Our Partners  GeoConnections  DM Solutions Group  Environment Canada  - EMAN CO  - Ontario Region  - CISE  Ontario Stewardship  Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources  Ontario Ministry of the Environment  Human Resources Skills Development  Hewlett-Packard

Mark Sunohara, Project Manager, CSW Sarah Rosolen, Partnerships and Development, CSW Dave McIlhagga, President, DM Solutions Group Contact Information