12/12/2018--Wednesday--OTS Research Experience December
Yesterday student project partner Christine Whitehorse and I tried all day to work on getting GIS access here at the Las Cruces Biological Station.  There were issues with access and the size of the data and we never did get the GIS connection with our school in New Mexico to transfer the software for analysis.  The software seemed to be too large for the system here at the Station.  We contacted students at Navajo Technical University in New Mexico, USA and asked them to send us the files we need for the imagery we will need for our research and presentation.  It looks like they are going to be able to provide this information after they find and magnify the abandoned pasture land using remote sensing.
We discussed with Scott, the program director, our plans to go out on Thursday with the Panamanian Indigenous specialists that arrived.  In all, there is a Shaman, a Biologist, and Craftsperson, and Government Representative/Environmentalist in this contingent from Panama.  Overall, the day allowed us to realize what constraints were here at the Station with regards to incorporating GIS into the research.  It is not the fault of the Station, it is my fault in that I did not know what was available at the Station prior to our arrival; but then again, I was a last minute replacement and did not have much time to prepare for this magnificent adventure.  Thank you OTS for this experience, this is real-world, hands-on experience, needed by all students no matter what their background, including the students we have here with us, Indigenous, post-secondary, STEM students and majors from the United States of America.  

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