In this context, it is safe to say that we are all pretty intimately familiar with the particular patch of land on which we stand. Ground-based sensing is fine as far as it goes, yet there are some things that only make sense when you zoom out for a wider view, filtering out extraneous data to see certain patterns in context, enhancing certain details via processing algorithms, etc.
This is the domain of Geosspatial Data Science. The status of this problem space is, in a nutshell:
We have access to a wealth of freely-available data and tools for analysing it.
Per this post of few months ago in the “GIS and Remote Sensing” category, we have a good handful of subject matter experts in the related domains [1]; and
We know of many more colleagues, too busy with their good works on the ground to delve very deeply into the technology, but interested in Spatial DataSci, to whatever extent it adds value to their work, greater than the investment of time/money that it requires.
That is the problem, and the opportunity. The idea here is to focus our considerable talents on this challenge: to bring mapping and remote earth sensing data (both from satellites and drones) and tools into the hands of the global ERCommunity; in so doing, we should develop a coherent language- as visual/intuitive as possible -for sharing such information to the general public.
[1] About those subject matter experts, i want to call out a few names & capacities -most if not all of whom have expressed interest in this topic and availability for at least some of the proposed week:
Mick: developer of the ERC Soil M&E Framework; also RESTOR.eco platform user support for Europe. These two tools, taken together, sort of frame the space in which we work, from micro to macro.
Melissa: Geospatial data scientist, an ARC GIS Pro; presently doing Suitability/ Vulnerability maps for certain ERCs (Barlavento bioregion is on the list
Jasmin: expert in QGIS & QField (for on-ground QGIS data access & aquisition), developing an manual for use by ERCs.
Elodie: MVI’s resident biologist & Soil Scientist, who manages the on-farm Soil Lab, its application of the ERC Soil M&E framework, and the Citizen Science program in VdL.
Bruno: Designer and master of many techs, his particular role is capturing good drone imagery, processing it via WebODM into OrthoMosaic maps & 3D models, video production and web publishing.
Richard: Managing Director of MVI, whose mission is to facilitate this work within the Barlavento Bioregion, and get it funded.
At Large:
Bernardo (on loan from the European Space Agency) Satellite-sourced earth remote sensing data acquisition/ processing/ analysis: also expert in QGIS, Drone data acquisition & processing, WebODM. Lately using DeepForest algorithm; MakeSense.ai for ground-truth training of the model
Walt: least technical of this lot, but dabbling in much of the above, plus more pedestrian tools like Google Earth Pro & Google MyMaps, to try and communicate the importance and impact of our work at Ecosystem Restoration
Others TBD: This is an open callout, for any who are willing to assist in any capacity -including documentation, communications, logistical suppport; Geospatial tech-savvy is not required, so long as the interest is there.
The Callout: We need to know at this point your interest and availability to participate in such a sprint, ideally in-person at ERC Vale da Lama for the whole week specified, but we’ll be grateful for whatever assistance you can lend. The format is not yet established; this Sprint is being co-created right here and now, based on your input. Please tell us whatever topics about which you’d be willing to share knowledge, and how you might be able to assist.
Hi there Walt, thank you very much for pulling the strings on this exciting collaboration. I am indeed available and keen to join the sprint from the 5th (probably arriving the night before), until the 8th of May.
I’d then happily facilitate data collection using the recently built ERC M&E app. And depending on how far Jasmijn can get this month, I would also love to validate/integrate the use of a QGIS plugin she has been working on, to enable stratified sampling designs on plots and logging of M&E data into (attribute tables of) points/polygons on QGIS.
Awesome! Can we count on your presence through full day of May 8? As to Monday the 5th: I don’t know if everyone can be present for that full day- i know @rosa.do.rio (Bernardo) is on a wedding all that weekend, and will probably arrive later on Monday -but the first order of business for you should be getting us op to speed with that M&E app; hopefully @Elodie & @Richard_MVI can join us for that work on Monday.
Whoa: now THAT would be cool! So how does this work? Does it involve use of QField? I’d love to understand the workflow from an end-user perspective; dunno if you can explain, Mick, but it would be great if you could… and/or bring Jasmin into this conversation directly (i don’t have her contact info)?
Hey guys, I am happy to answer the call!
I can go south on the 5th and stay until the 8th.
I thought of a few points that can be interesting for the team but I am free to just explore with you any ideas:
Share database of open geospatial products for any application. Share market for Satellite raw data.
Using GCP on orthomosaics generation, fixing projection drift.
Demo of open source AI model for tree crown detection - Opportunity for future applications dedicated to each bioregion by finetuning models with our own annotated data
Good afternoon, Lets do and co-create the sprint M&E 2025. I am available Monday May 5th: we can start from ground data in the morning @Mick and then @rosa.do.rio join in the afternoon? The rest of the week we can see how the ground data (and App) feed the QGIS and how to add remote sensing data.
MdS: data collection using the recently built ERC M&E app…
Goal: a full battery of tests run, geolocated & stored digitally
Tue May 6: Drone operations & drone data processing
BR: Using GCP on orthomosaics generation, fixing projection drift.
BS: Processing & publishing data, using free software
Goal: New OrthoMosaic and 3D model data, processed and deployed to both webODM.net cloud, and web
Wed May 7: Earth remote sensing (i.e. Satellite data) & QGIS for processing & storage
BR: Share database of open geospatial products for any application. Share market for Satellite raw data
BR: Demo of open source AI model for tree crown detection - Opportunity for future applications dedicated to each bioregion by finetuning models with our own annotated data
Jasmin (?): to validate/integrate the use of a QGIS plugin she has been working on, to enable stratified sampling designs on plots and logging of M&E data into (attribute tables of) points/polygons on QGIS.
Goal: an instance of QGIS, with layers of data from all 3 levels (space-based, ground-based and droned locally)
ground-truth data from Monday (and 2024?) soil sampling
satellite data: sources TBD previous day (BR)
drone data: use an extant OrthoMosaic (GeoTIFF) & 3D model (pointcloud)
Thu May 8: Comms Dev day
MdS: Restor.eco as THE platform for sharing globally?
alt (WL): Google Earth Pro for KML authoring, gSheets for profile data, Google MyMaps for self-publishing
WL: Developer collaboration using Github
Jasmin: QGIS manual
Bruno: Other docs & Videos
WL: Discourse for ERCommunity collaboration
Goal: A compelling collection of informative & inspiring content to engage the global network of ERCs, and solid infrastructure for publishing & maintaining it
Fri May 9: Wrapup & Coms Publishing
BS: Drone & Video Content Editing, Web publishing
WL: Facilitating online engagement
Goal: Engage as many players as possible in the content, from core team through local ERCommunity[2] to the global ERCs network.
Notes:
[1] re Project ECHO: following on public event of previous Saturday (May 3), at which Cristina Cruz of FCUL/CE3C will present the Soil Sampling Kits & software, via which many “Citizen Scientists” will be funnelling data through MVI (as the Soil Ambassador for Algarve) to FCUL, and then on to the managing partner of this Horizon EU project, which aims to engage some ~18k contributors. So if we can engage more local contributors through this effort, and train them in tools & methods, that would also be good.
[2] re Local (Barlavento Algarve) ERCommunity: we will be hosting a group of core contributors to this project on Saturday May 10, so this will be an ideal opportunity to use fruits of the week’s activity to engage them in sensing & mapping at their particular nodes in our bioregion.
Thanks for the proposal Walt! Great for me to start on the ground Monday with Mick. I am also available on Wed to continue if needed with Mick, Apps and mapping
Hi all! I am very sorry to share that my commitment at ERC Henbant changed last min, meaning I am no longer available from the 6-11th of May. Good news is I hadn’t invited Jasmijn yet!
Question to you: would the week after from the 12-18th of May, or even better, the first week of June, also be an option?
Both alternatives you suggest, @Mick, are sub-optimal for different reasons:
Week of May 12 is better for Soil M&E (tho earlier would be better); for my part, i am off farm on Monday the 12th, and much of Tuesday 13th;
First week of June is totally possible for me, but Soil M&E will be done at that point, and droning of farm is less interesting (i.e. pretty dry) at that point.
Hello to all, from my side,: I am available May, 5 (and I could come May, 6 if we have only 2 days with @Mick). The week of May 12-16 would also fits but not that optimal for fieldwork… June for soil M&E is too late, I will have finished by then but can be another proposal for next level M&E with Jasmin: working on data that I would have already collected.
Sounds good to me, let’s stick to the original week to prioritise M&E timing and also seeing as Bernardo and Bruno confirmed availability then; I’ll be sad to miss a big part of the program but will happily follow the outcomes through circle/discourse. Apologies for any confusion!
Just wanted to let everyone know, we’re confirmed the first week of May! I will be on site the 5th and the 6th, whereas @Wendy and @Jasmijn will stay on until Thursday at least that week.
@walt@Elodie@Bruno-MudValley in preparation for the sprint, it would be great to receive from you the polygons (as .kml or .kmz or .shp) of the areas where you are collecting data, as well as any specific sample locations (could be as an excel sheet), where you are digging/measuring stuff inside of those areas. Would any one of you be able to send this to me through mick@erc.earth please?
OK Mick, but- because i was only involved in the first samplings, i don’t know the locations of others that were subsequently done -i have to ask @Elodie : can you show me the locations of all those sites?
Then i can mark the points on my GPS watch… But @Mick , you ask for polygons. How shall we define the area surrounding the sampling points? By consistent use of land perhaps? For example: i know that some samples were taken somewhere in our West Garden agroforestry plot; should the related polygon enclose that entire plot?
Yes consistent use of land is fine, if it’s a very large plot (e.g. >10 ha), you could also separate polygons according to landscape traits such as sun orientation, slope, etc.
For the record: Here’s a rough outline summary of what happened in the course of our last 4 days. Details to be elaborated in a proper document, but for now… Thanks to all of you (@rosa.do.rio , @Bruno-MudValley , @Elodie , @Jasmijn , @Mick , @Richard_MVI@Wendy ) for all you did to make of this such a success!
Summary: ERC at QVdL - M&E Sprint Week
Day 1 Monday: focus: Soil Sensing, Ground-Truthing
Group meets at the office, the whole team is present: Walt, Mick, Jasmijn, Bernado, Elodie, Bruno & Wendy.
Round the table introductions: who we are and why we are here for the sprint.
Formalisation of the agenda for the day.
Software Tools Gathering & Configuration
Mick introduces the new M&E app from ERC. Plots are added to the App. Bug troubleshooting.
Introduction to QGISfrom Jasmijn. Project created and plotted with polygons and points. Jasmijn introduced her custom-built plugin and used that to create an appropriate attributes table for the project.
All projects plotted and finalised across the ERC M&E app and QGIS.
LUNCH: soup chicken stew at Walt’s
Afternoon: Field Work
Preparing for field testing in the soil lab
Explanation of equipment and showcase of echo soil testing kit
Showcase of the tea bag test and discussion around issues found with this test - tea bags not located, many eaten by animals? Run over by a tractor etc.
Walk to the first testing site in the upper Fig Orchard
Tests conducted:
Soil structure - drop and shatter test
Soil compaction
Soil water infiltration test
Soil slaking test
Ground at the first site was too compact to dig the 30cm x 30cm sample required for the drop and shatter test. Similarly, there has been no rain and Elodie prepared the site for the water infiltration test by pouring 2l of water over the area, to then test it in 2 hours time (inline with the same methodology she used last time, to ensure consistency).
The slaking test was carried out, along with the compaction testing.
We moved on to the second site, Fig Orchard Lower. The same preparations were made for the water infiltration testing. Slaking, soil structure and compaction tests were completed on this site.
Moving on to the control site, we carried out all 4 tests. The soil in this area was of significantly better quality.
The first two sites were revisited for final water infiltration tests.
Data was recorded in QGIS, the ERC app and on paper.
Tools were cleaned and put away.
DINNER: pizza at office garden (thanks, Richard & MVI!)
evening: moth trap configured and set out for the night
Day 2: Tuesday: focus: Drone ops & aerial data processing
pre-meeting: moth trap: count bodies, photograph, upload to iNaturalist
am: Meet at FarmOffice: full Day1 team, minus Elodie
Objectives and expectations are clearly laid out.
plotting the course for the drone.
Details are discussed about the frequency of how often pictures need to be taken and the workarounds to overcome the drone settings.
The drone is launched and carries out its mission of mapping the area.
am: fly orchard mission (+ ground-map GCPs)
post-mtg: alk around of the eco hotel site that is under construction.
LUNCH: leftovers at Walt’s
aft: processing drone data in WebODM to generate OrthoPhotoMap
Desktop instance vs WebODM Lightning
GCP plotting
DINNER: in Lagos (thanks, Mick & ERF!)
Day 3: Wednesday: focus: Mapping & updating maps w/ field data
Team meets at the office: full team, minus Mick & Elodie
am: QGIS projects & QField apps
create QGIS project for visualising Maps +M&E data from field
create QField Cloud account for synchronising data with QGIS
integrate data between QGIS & several QField apps
Junior Internship presentation: Results of Fertility Testing w/ Radishes
We walk over to another part of the land to attend the graduation ceremony of the first junior internship program.
LUNCH: sandwiches at Walt’s
Aft: team meets at FarmOffice: full team -Mick, + Elodie
integrating biodiversity data (flora&fauna) from iNaturalist
create QField app: “Tree Health” for logging observations in field
Video recap of our sprint week, in less than 90 seconds:
Transcript:
We recently brought together a diverse group of eight passionate individuals for a 4-day work sprint with one shared goal: to explore and practice better methods for mapping and monitoring our BioRegion. This wasn’t just about maps; it was about laying the foundation for a more informed and regenerative relationship with the land. We focused on combining practical hands-on soil analysis with modern technology to improve how we observe, record and respond to changes in our landscape by combining ground truth data with aerial views. We began building the kind of integrated maps that can support regenerative agriculture and ecosystem restoration; these tools help us track changes understand impacts and tell better stories about what’s happening on the land. This was more than a technical workshop: it was a shared experiment and collaboration in curiosity and care for the land. We’re excited to keep developing these methods and sharing them with others working to regenerate their landscapes. By grounding our technology in real field experiences, we move one step closer to creating tools that truly serve life.
