By Tangerine Clarke
Gwendolyn Smith Ph.D.,
a nature conservationist and
conflict resolution specialist in
Suriname, founder and chairman
of Green Growth Suriname
has launched a mobile
app on deforestation and forest
degradation.
“We soft launched this app
last year in Suriname to engage
citizens in gathering data on
deforestation and forest degradation,”
said Smith.
“It is developed to help
our governments to get onthe
ground data about deforestation
and forest degradation.
This extra data can help
detect illegal activity, but also
serve as a ground-truing tool
for national forest monitoring
efforts,” said the scientist.
Smith, a Dutch born, naturalized
Surinamese, said the
app is groundbreaking because
it is a simple and straightforward
app that does not need
any scientific training to use.
De Green Growth Forests
app, a tool for citizen scientist
to help identify areas of deforestation
Screen shot of the Green Growth Forests app.
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in the region is made
with simple pictures to identify
logging activities by boat,
or road and has a function
to learn and identify tree species.
All people in the Guyana
shield, from middle schoolchildren
to loggers, can use this
app, according to Smith.
Guyana and Suriname have
challenges of incomplete datasets,
scattered results and
lengthy processes between
indicators and reaction, as a
result, target policy and academic
research is hindered.
Jamaican national launches
STEAM project at Alma Mater
Conservationist
launches
deforestation app
By Tangerine Clarke
Minister of Education,
Youth and Information, Fayval
Williams has welcomed
the launch of the Dr. Joseph
Tait STEAM Infusion project
at Jamaica College.
Dr. Joseph Tait, a Jamaica
College alumna and New
York based retired veterinarian,
recently, unveiled a pioneering
Science Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Mathamathics
(STEM) laboratory,
at the school, from where he
graduated in 1953
Speaking at the launch and
opening of the Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts
and Mathematics (STEAM)
Laboratory recently, Williams
said the initiative, which was
funded by Dr. Tait, was in
line with the thrust of the
ministry to enable students
to have greater access to the
technology and the resources
needed to thrive as 21st century
learners.
“At the ministry, we are
committed to the task of
ensuring that none of our
students is left behind as we
seek to eliminate the digital
divide that exists in our society.
This divide has been made
even more evident with the
COVID-19 pandemic and the
need for our classrooms to be
moved to the virtual space,”
she said.
The minister argued that
the opening of the laboratory
was one of the best examples
of how crucial it was for partnerships
to be encouraged in
education.
“Because of the outreach of
one man and his team, many
young men will be able to be
inspired in this lab, opening
up to them a world of possibilities,”
Williams said.
She noted that, overall, the
STEAM Infusion project was
forward-thinking and innovative.
“If Jamaica is to be the
place to live, work, raise families
and do business, then
our workforce, through our
education sector, has to be
equally competitive on the
global market. The investment
truly begins in education,”
she said.
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