Following the University of Minnesota Crookston’s recent Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) Silver ranking, the Office of Sustainability focused their efforts on creating a sustainability tour that would visually represent the important campus sustainability work that has been done. Associate Professor and Sustainability Director Katy Chapman, Ph.D., and student intern Adriana Swanberg began the tour project in May 2024 and completed the work in August 2024.
Swanberg developed an interactive, virtual tour that underlines key locations promoting sustainability and provides key learning takeaways for viewers. She utilized ArcGIS Story Maps software to integrate the University’s brand standards and theme into the design.
“This sustainability virtual tour enables students, prospective students, staff, and the broader community to explore sustainability efforts on campus while engaging in interactive and educational activities,” Swanberg explained.
Some of the features that Swanberg selected in the design process include automatic initial zoom, a two-dimensional map style, and a modern antique template style. She conducted extensive research to gain more insight into and generate content for the story map. This included interviews with key stakeholders, research of campus buildings, and assessments of the STARS rating system and criteria.
The interactive, digital tour features on campus locations of high sustainable status, most notably the greenhouses, residence buildings, dining services, and the Office of the Chancellor.
Swanberg's endeavors capitalize on the STARS from Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to capture the University’s eco-conscious undertakings. Additionally, the ArcGIS Virtual Sustainability Tour contributes to the University’s aspirations to reach STARS Gold status.
Swanberg even attended the Prairie Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers (PCAG) conference held in Grand Forks, N.D., where she represented the U of M Crookston.
“I presented the ArcGIS Sustainability Virtual Tour and map I created during my internship with the Sustainability Office this past summer,” she shared.
“This virtual tour is available for everyone, and highlights the sustainability and sustainable efforts on campus in coordination with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities along with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Swanberg added.
Future plans for Swanberg and the Office of Sustainability include the possibility of a virtual geocache to encourage the general public’s awareness of the sustainability features that the U of M Crookston campus provides.
Click HERE to view the ArcGIS Sustainability Virtual Tour!
