MAPPING OUT PROBLEMS

EAST student at Benton High School uses ArcGIS to map out vulnerable watersheds on the Saline River

The Natural Resource Division of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture teamed up with an EAST student from Benton High School to create an interactive map of the Saline River in an effort to combat pollution.

Jace Edwards, who completed his sophomore year during the 20212022 school year, utilized ArcGIS technology in order to create a story map of the Saline River and its watersheds, revealing what areas of the community would be affected by trash floods.

“I used ArcGIS and ArcGIS’ story map feature to create a map of the Saline River and its entire stream network,” Jace said. “The map can show people where they live in relation to the several different watersheds of the river and how they can help keep the water clean.”

Jace worked alongside his community partner Tate Wentz on this project. Wentz is the Water Quality Section Manager for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Jace held weekly meetings with Wentz to coordinate the project and receive data that Wentz gathered in order to visualize it on his map rendering.

“Tate would send me the percentages of vegetation in different areas of the river,” Jace said. “He’d send me that data so I could put it together and visualize it on the map.”

The pair hope that the map will help local organizations identify areas of the river that are struggling with trash pollution, but Wentz says that the project is a preemptive strategy to prevent a crisis in the future. “There are some activities from the Saline River Watershed Alliance like trash cleanups, but this project is primarily preemptive,” Wentz said. “In busier areas we’ve seen a bit of an uptick in trash, but in terms of water quality it has stayed pretty consistent. However as the urban center grows, the Alliance is focusing on doing this in a manner that’s sustainable and this [project] can help with that.”

Benton High School began its EAST program in 2020. EAST provides access to numerous different types of technology including the ArcGIS system and encourages students to use that technology to solve problems within their community.

“This was the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to work on something like this,” Jace said.

“After spending a year in EAST, I learned that there aren’t very many opportunities like this in Benton.”

While Jace is planning to attend a vocational school that does not have an EAST program in the upcoming school year, Wentz is preparing to work with another EAST student from the program to continue work on this project — and is excited to continue his partnership with EAST at Benton High School.

“It’s rare to have students take such an interest in these things and get back outside,” Wentz said. “By partnering with EAST students like Jace, we’ve been able to help teach students not only the technology side of things, but also about environmental science and why these issues surrounding the river are so important.”