To this date, considerable academic research has gone into the development of sensors for use on sheep and cattle. However, with regard to their application on farms they have been limited. Sensor cost, technically difficult user interfaces, and issues with data transfer from remote locations on the farm to a centralised server have made many sensors unappealing for adoption into general farming practices.

In collaboration with Caerphilly council, IBERS and the Computer Science Department at Aberystwyth University are in the process of creating a data transfer system which can successfully relay data from animal, and fixed based sensors from field to a central server stored on farm. The objective being to produce a working example of this system complete with sensors, receivers and integration mounts. Emphasis is placed on deriving as lower cost components as possible for the hardware, and that the system be autonomous in nature.

In doing this, we can create a universal platform to which different types of senses can operate on seamlessly, and thereby allow flexibility in the choice of the sensors that individual farmers wish to adopt without needing to alter the main infrastructure. Furthermore, by developing such a system, we can reduce some of the functional requirements of the sensors (e.g. omitting the need for large stable storage capacity on each unit), thereby lowering the cost of the sensors.

As part of sharing the rural responses to globalisation, Global-Rural project designed and created a web based “walking” guide re-enacting the making and remaking Nambour, in rural Australia through raw cane sugar.

The content based on archival research and primary field work was translated to provide users with linear, place-based narrative featuring multimedia – videos, audios, interactive and static maps, images, photos etc. Each geo located place is accompanied by a narrative highlighting events about the location on the town’s struggles through the cane sugar industry. The narrative guide also includes places of interest, heritage sites and attractions.

For example, locations and videos of the last sugar crush, last burn down of cane plantation at Moreton mill, audio interviews with residents and former workers, videography etc. The guide can be followed sequentially through each story point, browsed interactively through the map or through the thumbnail carousel. For example, the survival of Nambour after the closures through conversion of its sugar trams, rail lines, plantations, staff accommodations to real estates, shopping malls, tourist attractions can be searched with key words.

The platform is created to serve as a tour guide while in Nambour. It is also a remotely accessible virtual tour based on a web browser and designed to be downloadable as a print or work on mobile devices. Features can also be reconstructed as 3D experiences.

Project Summary:

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) and Dyfed Archaeology both work across Wales alongside professionals and volunteers to help protect, record and interpret aspects of the historical environment. This project focuses on aiding the efficiency of completing building surveys, specifically to minimise the human input needed to extract and count the number of stone objects within a stone wall.

The initial project aim was to produce a workable methodology contained within a user-friendly software to detect and extract stone objects from an image of a stone wall. Through reviewing a variety of differing software and methods, a combination of analysis procedures where utilised and contained within a single executable file.

This single executable file has been generated to run on windows machines without the need for installation of the application itself or any dependencies. The application loads a Graphic User Interface when opened and runs through a guided workflow to enable users to extract stone objects from loaded images of stone walls in the format of an AutoCAD DXF format file.

Project Statement:

“The development undertaken so far in the vectorisation of individual stones from an image of a monument and then output them an AutoCAD drawing has huge potential in speeding up what has traditionally been a very time-consuming process.” – Scott Lloyd, Fundraising and Project Development Coordinator of the Royal Commission.

“The application developed as part of the project has the potential to rapidly produce stone-by-stone drawings and so speed up what is traditionally a slow and tedious process.” – Ken Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Dyfed Archaeology Trust.

Background

Sazani Associates are an international not-for-profit research and development organisation. They have teams based in Wales and Zanzibar and work in various fields such as socio-economic development, natural resource management and education.

Sazani are working with existing client, New Liberty Gold Mines (NLGM), to monitor changes to land use/land cover (LULC) as a result of mining activities in Liberia. They seek to carry out historic mapping and continuous monitoring of LULC to understand the changes and impact to biodiversity as part of the Bae Mountain Development Agreement Property Licence. This area lies within the Guinean Forests of West Africa; a biodiversity hotspot which is home to 9000 plant species, of which 1800 are endemic to the region.

Biodiversity offsetting is a compensatory approach to mitigating the environmental impact of developments and is well suited to large-scale, open pit mining operations such as those in Liberia. This type of mining is associated with habitat loss, disruption of aquatic habitats, and the subsequent bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals within the food chain. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to these impacts due to the economic potential of the mining opportunities. With an increase in mining activities within biodiversity hotspots, biodiversity offsetting is important for ensuring there is ‘no net loss’ as a result. Establishing a biodiversity baseline is a crucial step in the development of a biodiversity offset plan and provides the means to measure the impact and potential loss of biodiversity as a result of the mining activities.

Project Experience

The collaborative project between GEOM and Sazani Associates aimed to develop a novel framework for the use of automated Earth Observation (EO) techniques to assess habitats loss close to mining areas. These techniques built into a Baseline Mapping Module (BMM) in Google Earth Engine platform, uses historical archival earth observation data in the platform for the analysis and monitoring of vegetation cover dynamics associated with mining. The framework is designed to be user friendly, with minimal need for user input and reduced data processing time while deriving baseline information of the study area. 

Impact

Once developed, the BMM was trialled in the NLGM operation by investigating three land cover metrics: Percentage land cover distribution; vegetation loss; and the spatio-temporality of vegetation cover. The tool clearly identified the impact of the NLGM operation on the surrounding environment by estimating vegetation loss of approximately 2.22 square kilometres. The project demonstrated the feasibility of an automated approach in deriving land cover metrics.

The BMM has the capacity to incorporate new images as soon as they become available on Google earth engine platform and this has made possible the continuous monitoring of ecological baselines using historic data.

Project Statement:

“The land use change app developed in partnership with GEOM was a proof of concept product enabling the mapping of land change over time using remote sensing data. Once the concept was engineered in partnership with GEOM, Sazani was able to take the learning and moved to reframe the application through the investment of ESRC funding with Swansea University and a range of external developers. Without the time spent working with the GEOM team this platform work not have emerged. Sazani are using a land change mapping tool developed from the learning with GEOM to identify how to plan a biodiversity offset in Ethiopia, supporting communities to develop climate state livelihoods in an area undergoing major resettlement very close to the South Sudan border.” – Mark Proctor, Director at Sazani Associates.

Project Summary:

Sazani and GEOM collaborated to explore options to develop a mobile participatory mapping app. Together, they drew up a list of proposed capabilities the app should have that goes beyond a simple digital survey to include features such as mapping, tracking, geotagged photographs, and multiple-type questions and responses. The mobile app aimed to provide Sazani with the means to gather person centred data on participants demographic characteristics, and their environment in a way that is confidential, interactive, confidential and user friendly.

The GEOM project team carried out research into the platforms that would support data collection by surveys with mapping-led questions whilst Sazani carried out research into citizen science-led features. Sazani also developed a set of citizen science-led questions which would form the basis of designing and configuring a mobile data collection app.  It was important that all parties worked to ensure the app was developed in line with best practice in participatory planning and within Welsh planning law. The project adopted an ODK framework.

The outputs from the project include the Sazani Participatory Mapping App operational on the android platform; the web form version of the mapping tool; the authored Sazani Participatory Mapping XForm containing the questions and features requested; and the free and open-source code for the app.

Impacts:

The development of the Sazani Planning Mapping App has the potential to revolutionise the way planning data is collected to contribute towards participatory planning. The features of the app and web version make participatory planning more accessible, and cheaper than standard methods and, as a result, it is hoped that greater community engagement, particularly from marginalised groups, can be achieved in future planning projects.

The creation of the app enables Sazani to offer a new service in any future citizen science community-based planning projects. The intention is that, as the app grows and its use is adopted more widely, this will create opportunities for Sazani to employ more staff.

Project Summary:

Multiple lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the subsequent temporary closure of major client businesses has left many small producers unable to access their ordinary market, which has caused sales for many to drop substantially. Given producers have been unable to sell as much produce through B2B sales because of the lockdown, they wished to develop a system whereby increased sales may be conducted directly with consumers (B2C). With support from the Caerphilly Council ‘Cwm y Mynydd’ rural development programme, they were keen to support the development of a local food network, specifically the idea of creating food hubs within different parts of the county in order for producers to be able to sell their produce. However, for substantial resource and time to be allocated to the venture, key research steps had first been identified which require fulfilling in order to provide proof-of-concept. These included:

• Identifying producers keen to be involved in direct B2C access
• Mapping the locations of these producers so future distribution hubs could be strategically placed
• Providing an estimate of consumer engagement.

A GEOM project was undertaken to create a suitable website with an attached database. The website would act as a portal for both businesses and consumers.  Businesses would be able to register on the website and record useful information surrounding the products they sold, and their location, whilst consumers could access the website to see which local producers were available. ‘Our Pantry Online Wales’ was launched on April 1^st 2021, and was promoted through several means (social media posts, press releases, email circulars, producer cooking demonstrations). Since launch, the website has received 15 business registrations, with hundreds of people (and likely many more) being made aware of the website though promotional activities, and considerable activity on the website witnessed through the analytics.

Project Statement:

“The project has identified a number of producers that were new to the RDP programmes work and we have gone on to offer advice and support to these as a result of this initiative.  It has enabled the RDP team to build closer working relationships with key food and drink producers that have and continue to inform the development of new work programmes and funding applications.  Information gathered from this project has been factored into and helped to inform a regional application to the UK Governments Community Renewal Fund, which if successful, will further some of the mapping work and integrate and formalise the development of shared routes to market for local producers across the southeast of Wales” – Kevin Eadon-Davies – Caerphilly Rural Development Program (RDP) Manager.