SPOTLIGHT: maps, and some of the women behind our products
July 12, 2019
Ducks Unlimited Canada is proud to have a large number of strong, intelligent, and hardworking conservation-minded women within our National Boreal Program team. Today we are going to shine the spotlight on two women that are as talented at throwing weights above their heads as they are at raising the baseline for Canadian wetland inventories, and how impactful those inventories can be to decision making.
Becky and Becca both started working as Remote Sensing Analysts at the Edmonton office in November of 2016. Recently, they, along with their fellow analysts, just finished producing the largest mapping project Ducks Unlimited Canada has ever undertaken in its 81-year history; a massive 77 million acres in the NWT. Though their names, job titles, and morning workout regimens are similar, here’s how they both contribute to producing high quality maps which are used from wetland classification to helping guide land use management decisions.
From (L), Becky Edwards performing fieldwork in the Akaitcho region, NT and Becca Warren (R) performing fieldwork in Dehcho, NT. Aerial surveys are crucial to giving our remote sensing team a bird’s eye view of the landscape and it helps to verify what they have mapped for accuracy.
In April 2019, Becky (@Becky_Maps on Twitter) was featured in a Ladies of Landsat article (excerpt here) in the first student consortium edition newsletter of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). Becky’s keen interest in not only helping conserve wetlands in the boreal forest through the creation of informative maps, but sharing that knowledge with others on Twitter, is what got her noticed for this article. She speaks about her latest mapping achievement working with the Treaty 8 Tribal Corporation (“Akaitcho”), her educational background, and the path moving forward. When Becky isn’t making maps, you might find her practicing salsa, soccer, powerlifting or one of her many other pastimes in the outdoors.
At the end of May 2019, Becca (@beccakwar on Twitter) attended the Society of Wetland Scientists Conference in Baltimore to give a talk about her work on the Akaitcho mapping project. Being present at events like these, where there is an international audience of researchers, government and industry professionals is imperative to both keeping current with wetland science as well as creating meaningful networks for future collaborations. The science we create is only as good as the furthest set of eyes it can reach, and the more the merrier in this regard. Becca’s fascination particularly with northern Canada, is apparent when she steps up to the podium and speaks of the work and collaborations working on the Akaitcho mapping project (stay tuned later this month for more information about our work with the Akaitcho). When Becca isn’t making maps, you may find her taste testing all Edmonton has to offer or sitting comfortably inside playing a round of Dungeons and Dragons.
To find out more about some of our incredibly passionate staff, visit us at
http://boreal.ducks.ca/about-us/team
Aerial view flying over the proposed Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve,
located near Łutsel K’e, NWT.