Geographical Thinking from Esri Canada

In this episode of Geographical Thinking, Matthew Lewin, director of strategic advisory at Esri Canada, interviews TD’s associate VP of geospatial data and retail analytics, Annie Latremouille. TD’s geospatial program is on the rise, with GIS technology helping to strengthen the customer experience and drive better business outcomes. Their success comes from positioning the group as a Canadian centre of excellence for GIS, putting the right tools in the hands of colleagues who aren’t GIS users and—most importantly of all—constantly proving the business value, relevance and impact of GIS.

In very little time with very little money, Georgina Fire and Rescue Services transformed their community risk assessment process.  How did they do it? Esri’s Guan Yue speaks with Georgina Fire and Rescue Services Deputy Fire Chief Lorianne Zwicker who explains how real-time data collection and $58 saves lives. 

Did you know noise is the #2 Urban Environmental Health Hazard affecting our sleep, our bodies and our minds?  Making a ruckus about excessive noise in the big city before noise by-laws are reviewed, Ingrid Buday, founder of No More Noise Toronto, tells Guan Yue how she’s taken matters into her own hands. 

Southlake Regional Health Centre’s hyper-local interventions, tailored and targeted to the Northern York Region of Ontario, are gained through geoanalytics. 

Our guest speaker is Gayle Seddon, Director of the Southlake Community Ontario Health Team. Gayle joined Southlake Regional Health Centre as the Executive Innovator. 

CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. They have a team of GIS professionals who understand the potential of location intelligence and built their proprietary web-based platform – Dimension. 

In this episode of Geographical Thinking, Guan Yue speaks with Naz Ali, the Senior GIS Manager for CBRE Limited, about the evolution of GIS at CBRE and what the future may entail. 

The Canadian Urban Institute’s new report examines the hurdles to converting empty downtown buildings in eight Canadian cities. CUI’s executive director Mary Rowe explains. 

As Guan prepares for a new season of Geographical Thinking, we're pleased to share a conversation with Esri Canada’s Genevieve George about GeoAI. This content originally aired as part of Spatial Report Podcast's Episode 3: An Eye for A.I. Maggie Samson and Mark Ho host.

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we approach geospatial analysis, and GeoAI is at the forefront of this transformation. In this episode, Maggie and Mark are joined by a product expert who will explore what GeoAI is and empower you to give it a go. From advanced image classification to predictive modeling, learn how ArcGIS and GeoAI is revolutionizing geospatial analysis in the age of AI. 

Put on your hiking shoes and pack your picnic basket.  The funcast podcast is back, and this time we’re taking a leisurely stroll through your favourite parks.  Esri Canada instructors André Piasta and Nigel Pereira trade their laptops for frisbees as they battle for trivia geo-glory.  From Stanley Park to Gros Morne, join us on an awe-inspiring journey that traverses the most captivating landscapes our planet has to offer.  Don’t forget the sunscreen!

James Hardcastle, Associate Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), discusses the significance of the global initiative to protect 30% of the Earth by 2030, otherwise known as 30X30.  

GIS has entered the boardroom of investment firms and is now seen as a game-changer with regards to better understanding climate change and the long-term prospects of corporations.  

Alex Martonik, Business Resilience, Financial Services, and Insurance Lead for Esri, talks about why climate resilience matters to businesses. 

Marta Segura, Chief Heat Officer & Climate Emergency Mobilization Director for the city of Los Angeles, talks about using mapping and location technology to help bring relief to residents during heatwaves.  

An online app showing the locations of Naloxone kits in Newfoundland and Labrador became popular on social media in early 2023. Guan Yue spoke with Mark Squires, the creator of the app, about his role as a GIS analyst in Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, as well as other projects that bridge data and health needs. 

Did you know the vital role GIS professionals play in the Canadian Armed Forces? In this episode of Geographical Thinking, Guan Yue speaks with Lieutenant Colonel Denise Sweet about the many projects in Canada's Armed Forces using location data and GIS.

Learn more at Esri.ca.

Ian Williams with the Toronto Police Service on how the police have evolved their use of GIS.

Brad Connatty, Manager of Upstream GIS at Suncor Energy, talks about how the use of GIS and location analytics is evolving in the energy industry.     

News outlets now reach audiences using interactive maps, dashboards, podcasts. Amy Luft's an award-winning digital content producer with the CTV network. Hear how she helps reporters tell stories in new ways. 

Helping indigenous and First Nations people build their GIS capacity cartographer Steve DeRoy of The Firelight Group, wants to indigenize maps.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-12-indigenous-mapping-in-canada?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2022

Paul Shaffelburg is in charge of the GIS and geospatial services at Halifax Regional Municipality. Hear how he spearheads new processes and solutions in a complex municipality.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-11-management-perspectives-with-matt-lewin?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=%23ref!&utm_campaign=podcasts-2022

Tune in to hear how the role of GIS in managing a big city's water has evolved over the last decade. In this special interview with guest host Matt Lewin, Esri Canada's director of management consulting, Bill Shea is thoughtful about how GIS managers can effectively collaborate with upper management, who often don't know all the capabilities of GIS and location analytics.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-3-management-perspectives-part-1-of-4?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

To help our battle against COVID-19, public health's need for location analytics was obvious. Meet two members of the Esri Canada's new public health team in this episode and hear how two GIS enabled Canadian projects in this field  - HIV self-testing kits and getting COVID vaccines to the homebound- have made a difference.

We're making some lists and checking them twice. We're gonna find out who wins geo-glory! The funcast podcast returns with the ultimate game of knowledge and strategy. Play along with Esri Canada's Lakshmy Vasanthamohan and Mark Nguyen as they itemize geographical lists - one location at a time. It's harder and funnier than you think. They better not pout and better not cry if they're wrong!

GHGSat - a start up in Montreal - owns the first satellites that detect greenhouse gases at the facility level. They use Esri software to present the results so the emitter can respond effectively. Listen to a fireside chat amongst founder of Esri Jack Dangermond, Richard Cooke Esri's Director of Remote Sensing and CEO of GHGSat Stephane Germain on monitoring climate change from space.

Alex Miller, President of Esri Canada, is a pioneer in GIS technology. He knows this subject in his bones and has travelled all over this country showing it to others. He wants GIS to help make this country a better place to live. On this episode of Geographical thinking he reflected on the pivotal moments of GIS in the past and what its future may entail.

"Geographic knowledge plays a role in nearly every decision we make at Ducks Unlimited Canada". When Guan saw this statement, she knew she needed to hear their stories. For decades, Ducks Unlimited Canada has been using GIS. Initially it was to map wetlands, but it's gone far beyond that. They use it for research into waterfowl, and study the effect habitat conservation has on water quality and even to raise funds. Guan invited Andrew Pratt - Manager of Information Technology at Ducks Unlimited Canada to share the story of how they leverage GIS across departments.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-5-from-habitat-conservation-to-fundraising?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=s2ep5&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

Mapannapolis is a non-profit that maps local cultural history, but this is not a traditional group of historians. It is a silo-busting, cross-discipline, award-nominated group that uses GIS to map structures, graveyards and churches to understand their community better. Guan talks to one of their founders, Heather LeBlanc, about how it works and what it means to the people living in one of the most famous parts of this country, the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-4-mapping-history-in-nova-scotia?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

GHGSat, a Montreal-based, leading-edge space and data technology company, is the first in the world to monitor greenhouse gases from space. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 26 of the 50 essential climate variables can only be effectively observed from space. Guan invited Adina Gillespie, the Director of Business Development at GHGSat, to share their journey. Tune in to hear about this important work on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-3-monitoring-greenhouse-gases-using-satellites?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

Dr. Este Geraghty is the chief medical officer and health solutions director at Esri. In Season 1, Episode 1 of the Geographical Thinking Podcast, she shared her insights about what a geo-enabled public health system might look like. Now, in Episode 2, she continues her conversation with Guan by exploring the implications of geo-enabled public health systems. Could this approach teach us how to address bigger challenges within health systems, as well as other global issues like social equity or even climate change? Tune in to this episode to find out.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-2-global-collaboration-beyond-covid-19?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Geographical Thinking Podcast! Our first guest of the season is Dr. Este Geraghty, chief medical officer and health solutions director at Esri and former deputy director of the Center for Health Statistics and Informatics with the California Department of Public Health. Having spent many years working at the intersection of public health and GIS—a space now changed forever by the spread of COVID-19—Este shares her insights about what a geo-enabled public health system should look like and why the Science of Where is critical to its mission.

The conversation continues in Episode 2, where Este talks about the far-reaching impact of GIS beyond the domain of public health.

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-2-episode-1-a-geo-enabled-public-health-system?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

We have a Young Professional Network (YPN) for those starting out in this business. It encourages discussion amongst young professionals on how to grow careers. We are running a 3 part summer series to share conversations in a YNP round table discussion.

This episode is the last of our summer series, with four experienced GIS professionals answering questions from our YPN. The young GIS professionals just starting out professionally, wanted to know what would help them get into this as a career.

Our honorable panel members:

Joann Fox - Manager of Business Analytics Intelligence and Reporting, Edmonton Police Service
Jeff Lamb - Partnerships and Special Projects, York Region (Ontario)
Will Caddell - CEO and founder of Sparkgeo Consulting
Chris North - Director of Technology Adoption, Esri Canada

Visit our podcast page at:
https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-16-things-they-wish-they-knew-earlier?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=ep-16&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

We have a Young Professional Network (YPN) for those starting out in this business. It encourages discussion amongst young professionals on how to grow careers. We are running a 3 part summer series to share conversations in a YNP round table discussion.

This episode is part 2 of our summer series, with four experienced GIS professionals answering questions from our YPN. They wanted to know what would be the best geospatial technology investment for organizations and businesses post pandemic.

Our honorable panel members:

Joann Fox - Manager of Business Analytics Intelligence and Reporting, Edmonton Police Service
Jeff Lamb - Partnerships and Special Projects, York Region (Ontario)
Will Caddell - CEO and founder of Sparkgeo Consulting
Chris North - Director of Technology Adoption, Esri Canada

Visit our podcast page at:
https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-17-imagining-the-industrys-future?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=ep-17&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

We have a Young Professional Network (YPN) for those starting out in this business. It encourages discussion amongst young professionals on how to grow their careers. We are running a 3 part summer series to share a YNP round table discussion.

This is the first episode of our summer series. Four experienced GIS professionals are answering questions from our young professionals. The question is - what they know now that they wish they'd known earlier in their GIS career and how might it have changed their career choices?

Our honorable panel members:

Joann Fox - Manager of Business Analytics Intelligence and Reporting, Edmonton Police Service
Jeff Lamb - Partnerships and Special Projects, York Region (Ontario)
Will Caddell - CEO and founder of Sparkgeo Consulting
Chris North - Director of Technology Adoption, Esri Canada

Visit our podcast page at:
https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-16-things-they-wish-they-knew-earlier?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=ep-16&utm_campaign=podcasts-2021

Geographical Thinking Caps, our funcast podcast, is back! To celebrate Canada Day, Mark Ho welcomes Dan Mallett and Susie Saliola of Esri Canada to uncover the truths and lies of Canadian geography. From largest islands to bathtub racing, you'll learn more about your country with fun conversation along the way. Bring the sunscreen and wave the maple leaf - it's time to battle for geo-glory!
https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-15-real-fake-news-eh

Spatial literacy doesn’t need to be hard and complex as it sounds. Two parents made it into a fun family activity with their two boys mapping out their Disney World Trip before COVID-19.  Guan talked to Colleen Raymond and Mike Gregotski, both long time GIS professionals, about how they are engaging their small children in geography projects and impressing their sons’ friends!  Looking for ideas to engage your little ones at  home? This episode is for you.

Resources:

Podcast webpage
https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-14-making-geography-fun-at-home-for-children

Story map of family trip to Walt Disney World
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/cd3514db3b0a481097240e1e894c0680

Story map created for Nolan’s grade 1 class visit
https://www.entertainmaps.com/

Carter’s Chile story map project for grade 2
https://resources.esri.ca/education-and-research/gis-ambassadors-supporting-their-kids-learning-at-home-with-arcgis

Blog post: GIS Ambassadors supporting their kids’ learning at home with ArcGIS
https://resources.esri.ca/education-and-research/gis-ambassadors-supporting-their-kids-learning-at-home-with-arcgis

Esri Canada's 2022 Map Calendar Contest (Deadline July 16)
http://esri.ca/calendar

Register for 2021 Esri User Conference (July 12 - 15)
http://esri.com/uc

Skills Ontario runs a contest for high school students to practice their spatial analysis skills with the hope that they may use it professionally. Join Guan's conversation with one of the winners - Jaden Noronha, a Grade 12 student who one judges described as doing ‘amazing work’ and the teacher supporting him - Joey Raso from Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Dufferin Peel.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

https://resources.esri.ca/geographical-thinking-podcast/season-1-episode-13-students-gis-work-wowed-judges?utm_source=apple%20podcasts&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=podcasts-2020s1

It shouldn't be hard to find information on Indigenous role models or community successes. How about a vast number of them? Denali YoungWolfe, a PhD researcher at the University of British Columbia, collects Indigenous success stories across Turtle Island and maps them to show their presence, abundance and diversity. In this episode, she talks to Guan about her story "We Rise: The Âhkameyihtamowin Project: Mapping Indigenous Assurgency Across Turtle Island" and the reasons why mapping Indigenous success is critical to bolstering cultural identity. If you'd like to nominate an Indigenous success story, here is Denali's online survey.

If you could visualize the location of all crimes in your region, would you do anything differently to stay safe or make it safer for others? Debbie Verduga from the Toronto Police Service (TPS) talks to Guan about TPS's Public Safety Data Portal, its evolution and impact, and Debbie's own personal GIS journey to becoming a senior crime analyst.