Perhaps the greatest aspect of the discipline of geography is that it is limited only by your imagination. You can explore any subject or phenomenon on the face of the Earth, geographically, provided you can provide logical and reasoned discussion about its site and/or situation.
That leaves you a lot of latitude for exploring what interests you, pun intended! Heck, the ideas generated by this revelation could start sprouting like mushrooms after our recent rains. Which reminds me …
Today we are highlighting the work of Christopher Campbell, a student in the GIS program at Santa Monica College. In the link below, Christopher delves into the where and the why in California of the elusive wild morel mushroom. The story that unfolds in his text, maps, and photos is as interesting as it is informative. He shows us that we can systematically explore and understand any natural wonder of interest to us, provided we employ sound scientific reasoning as well as basic geographic concepts and principles.
Morels by Christopher Campbell
So, the moral of this story is that whatever you find fascinating — in the Golden State or elsewhere — the science of geography and the tools of GIS can be your guides to securing a deeper understanding of that which sparked your curiosity.
If you are interested in learning GIS at Santa Monica College, please check out their offerings in Geography Program in the Earth Sciences Department.
** Rediscovering the Golden State: California Geography welcomes submissions of California-themed projects from students and faculty from any CA institution of higher education to be highlighted on our web site. This includes, but is not limited to, articles, papers, maps and presentations– GIS or otherwise).
Even if you are working/ studying outside CA, we’ll consider your contributions too, provided the content has a clear and unambiguous connection to California geography.
For more information: info@rediscoveringthegoldenstate.com
