Hi folks,
Building upon my experiences in the backcountry, and criticism about social media and nature, I am looking at some applications of mobile technology I would like to see used in Provincial and National Parks in order to enhance the experience of all visitors while enjoying the backcountry.
Please click here to read more about it.
Cheers,
Megan
Megan,
I am literally driving south on hiway 93 from Jasper to Banff while reading your post, which I endorse virtually and concur with and wholeheartedly!!
As I drive 70 km per hour, I excitedly watch for animals on the road (so far today I have seen cougar, goat herd, deer, brown bear and long horned sheep.) While I don’t want to bombard them with encroaching humans, the 10 uear old in me wishes I could see more! Is there a way to safely see animals without disturbing them using your idea? One of my oldest childhood wishes has been to be able to identify and communicate with all of the flora and fauna of the forest. While I would not want the animals to be tagged or plants to be harmed, your App might offer some method of digital, hands-off tracking wherein we could communicate with the plants and animals to determine their needs. I guess we may also need Dr Doolittle’s dictionary to create a large language model animals 🙂
Hi Megan,
As an avid hiker and camper myself, I can relate to your project goals. It’s a challenging paradox – you’re trying to balance being mindful of the time you’re spending outside with safety, and making the outdoor space more accessible. Tech issues aside, the outdoors hasn’t always been promoted as a diverse space for everyone. MEC, the largest Canadian gear retailer made a statement in March 2018 following member complaints about lack of people of colour and different ability in their advertisement.
Tech-shaming, something you touched on is very real, although I didn’t know the extent of its reach. Thanks for sharing the controversial Public Lands Hate You (Instagram) account and the hijacking of #LeaveNoTrace. Outside Magazine covered tech shaming on outdoor experiences in their article, “Let’s Stop Judging People for Using Phones Outdoors” (https://www.outsideonline.com/2405198/phones-outdoors-tech-shaming-guilt). I highly recommend it, if you haven’t read it already.
I explored Near-Field Communications (NFC) beacon technology in this course, and think it also could be applicable here. NFC technology can transfer data without an internet connection or Bluetooth, saving energy and battery use – both which I find precious when out and about.
(On a side note, I also worked at a visitor centre inside a national park – looks like we have something else in common!)
Hi Megan, thanks for sharing your A3. It was nicely created and I can tell this is a passion area for you. Nature and cell phones, my first thought was how good the cell signals have to be in order to work 100%. I agree that network coverage is getting better around the world at these parks, however I think it still needs to get to a point where anyone anywhere with a phone can use it to get help if stuck or lost. Now that most phones come with cameras its certain people are bringing them into the country to take photos, so why not have that coverage to use it as a safety device as well. Thanks for sharing Megan, good work!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for sharing your technology for outdoors app. I really like the augmented reality aspect – of receiving texts, or interactive nature, like scanning qr codes.
To a certain extent, phones have been utilized a lot to aid people in nature as well as track it. Two examples:
Avalanche Canada is crucial for those who back-country tour: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.avalanche.mobile.v2&hl=en_us
Whale Alert is a citizen science initiative to track whales: http://www.whalealert.org/
There are so many opportunities for micro-learning and being connected in the case of emergencies is invaluable.
Hi Megan. Great sharing! I like staying at home not because I hate going outside, but because I feel nervous about visiting the place where I know nothing about it. Your idea is going to be very helpful to a person like me and motivate us to go outside.
I especially agree with this argument, “Wild spaces have traditionally been the play spaces for the middle and upper classes and the response to issues related to newcomers in the outdoors should not be restricted access (except for perhaps in environmentally sensitive areas), but increased education. Mobile technology is an under-utilized tool when it comes to education and safety warnings about the backcountry”. It reflects the core of technology-enhanced learning: teach people the right knowledge in specific conditions and facilitate them to practice. Link it back to school education, such kind of applications can be very helpful for students to connect their knowledge with the real world situation simultaneously.
Your writing is full of love and passion for nature. I enjoyed reading it.
Well done!
Yi
Hi Megan,
Thanks for sharing your passion for the outdoors with us! I really enjoyed reading through your project and learning about how technology can be used to improve safety in the backcountry. As a person who lacks experience in hiking, camping and other outdoor activities, I think having safety information would be extremely valuable. I often feel uncomfortable when engaging in outdoor activities, particularly in remote areas. It would make me feel a lot calmer to receive information about these areas, specifically regarding wildlife encounters or conflicts. It also serves as a good way for people to report updates regarding conditions.
This sounds amazing, Megan! And as someone who’s not super experienced with the backcountry hiking and camping, I’d be glad to receive a message or something welcoming to a new trail and letting me know a little about what’s in store for me. I loved how you included the anecdote from your time in Cairo to show that such technology very much exists already. And I’m reminded of Jamie Tooze’s submission talking about satellite service and how that could maybe tie into what you’re proposing here.
Also, I really liked that your project was concise. To the point, no superfluous noise. That’s hard to do and it made for a much more enjoyable engagement on my end. So thanks!
Awesome job!!
This does sound good. A way to simplify this data would be to basically show it like Google Maps shows traffic. Busy trails would show up dark red, empty trails in Green, and encounters with wildlife or washed-out bridges can show up like the speed trap icons, with associated pictures.
Trailforks and other similar apps already have good descriptions of trails, so integrating this shouldn’t be unfeasible.
Lastly, the most exciting thing to me might be the future Starlink connections from phones, which would allow for internet access no matter where you are in the backcountry. While some might not like this idea, I can’t wait as it can not only save lives, but allow for people to easily rendezvous or can facilitate field research and communication. Starlink isn’t initially designed for direct smartphone connections, but as the tech improves and antennae shrink it’s totally feasible.
I was actually considering making a post with these ideas, but this seems like a good place to discuss it as it’s a similar topic.
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your comment. I think there is a lot of potential in this area, especially with the expansion of mobile networks. I think there is a lot of resistance to the idea of connectivity in the backcountry, but I think that the safety of backcountry users should trump some people’s inability to “unplug”. The information about trails already exists, and in many areas (generally more urban adjacent areas) trails are already integrated into Google Maps.
I’m also interested in the potential uses of NFC for areas without cell coverage for communicating trail reports, wildlife encounters, and doing safety check ins as most people I know, myself included, take their phones into the backcountry to take photos (among other uses). It kind of ended up outside the scope of my presentation but I see it as an area with potential as well.