Balloon Aerial Mapping BRIEF WORKSHOP

From http://publiclab.org/wiki/kite-balloon-hybrid

A NEW Community Mapping Approach : Balloon Mapping

BRIEF WORKSHOP #1

DATE/TIME: 10/29/14 - 0800 

LOCATION:  Evans Hall turnout in Loma Linda University off of Anderson

24785, Stewart St. Loma Linda, CA 92354

Meet by the Loma Linda University sign in the grass. My grey truck will be nearby.

WHAT IS IT? 
Balloon (and Kite) photography is a participatory technique used to acquire aerial photographs and qualitative data from participants. It is a fun outdoor activity that takes a little planning and produces a lot of images. It has been used to document contamination from the BP oil spill, neighborhood environmental health issues, urban development issues and many other topics.  The unique thing about balloon mapping is that it requires a team approach and is therefore a qualitative method. Researchers can acquire lots of relevant information from the planning and organizing phase; these facilitate conversations, explanations and justifications for why you would want to photograph sometime from the sky. The most important component of this method is that it is participatory and it generates many different types of data that can be used to advocate for communities.

WHY SHOULD YOU COME?
This first workshop is setup to simply introduce the idea and test fly a balloon with a camera attached. We will meet at Loma Linda University and then travel to a nearby mapping location that doesn't have a lot of obstacles for the tethered balloon.  Come along if you want to collaborate with us on using this method. We will fly some custom designed Mylar balloons and introduce everyone to the general technique. It's really easy!  Later workshops will take the data and generate maps, fly a drone for aerial photography and explore some other techniques.

AGENDA: 
8am: Meet on the grass and organize transportation to the mapping site (My truck has 6 seatbelts)
8:15am: Travel to the site and prep the equipment and talk to everybody.
8:30am: Fly the ballon
9am: return to LLU

Contact me with any questions:
rsinclair@llu.edu