The California Geographic Alliance is proud to announce the winners of the 8^th Annual My California GIS Mapping Showcase and Competition.

This exciting statewide opportunity encourages middle (4th-8th grade) and high school (9th-12th grade) students to harness the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and connect with their state by producing a StoryMap. The state competition is part of a national competition sponsored by Esri, creators of ArcGIS Online software and educational resources that are freely available to K-12 schools. $100 in prize money is allocated to the student author(s) of up to five award-winning projects in each division. The first place project in each division also advances to the national competition.

The contest is coordinated by Dr. Waverly Ray of San Diego Mesa College. Dr. Ming-Hsiang Tsou of San Diego State University serves as head judge. The CGA is grateful for this support and for the advocacy of these individuals to support GIS in K-12 education!

The CGA also sincerely thanks all of the educators across the state who gave their students the great experience of using GIS to create their own maps and projects. Participation in the competition was low this year, and we understand the challenges that teachers are facing in a year shaped by pandemic recovery. Teachers are the best, and we know you’ll continue to make learning engaging for your students. We appreciate your help in bringing the power of geographic thinking and geospatial technologies to your students.

The first place prize in the 4^th-8^th grade division is awarded to Ava Kruttschnitt of Ross School in Ross (Marin County) for a project entitled “OR-93: A Trailblazing Trek.” This is a great story of nature’s resilience and a creative use of mapping to help readers connect with one pioneering individual who is helping to lead the way toward re-wilding California. And as a back-to-back winner, Ava goes into the Student GIS Mapping Hall of Fame.
UPDATE: Ava has been selected as the winner of the national competition for 2024!!!

The first place prize in the 9^th-12^th grade division is awarded to Arek Boynerian of Clark Magnet High School in La Crescenta (L.A. County) for a project entitled “Volatile Organic Compounds In Gas Stations.” This StoryMap presents original data and thoughtful analysis of VOCs that occur at and near gas pumps. Data create a better understanding of how people are exposed to VOCs, and maps relate the hazard to the location of schools and bike lanes.

Other students recognized in the 4^th-8^th grade division include:

• Second place: Elliot (Ellie) Wang and Teahani (Teah) Jensen, Vinewood Elementary School, Lodi, “Massive Dam Project in California“
• Third place: Reid Luis and Silas Tomek, Vinewood Elementary School, Lodi, “How Wildfires Affect the Environment“

Other students recognized in the 9^th-12^th grade division include:

• Second place: Alondra Arista and Luke Scherrer, Clark Magnet High School, La Crescenta, “Using GIS Analysis to Prevent Wildfires“
• Third place: Angelina Joby, Clark Magnet High School, La Crescenta, “ToxiGuard Pro for California“