Spatial Environmental Education

Zooming in to a satellite image to examine deforestation, visualizing the retreat of a glacier, and navigating a trail on a smartphone have become commonplace in the 21st century. For centuries, maps have stirred imaginations and inspired explorations of the unknown. Far from the static documents of the past, today’s maps can be manipulated and combined with other maps, charts, images, databases, videos, websites, and other data to help us understand spatial relationships. Geotechnologies make the maps and the everyday activities detailed above possible.  However, the technologies are effective because the people using them have cultivated a spatial way of looking at the world by examining patterns, relationships and trends through maps.  Decisions that use GIS include planning urban greenways, mitigating invasive weeds, locating optimal sites for wind energy, and studying the impact of groundwater withdrawal on aquifers, from a local to global scale. 

 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/gisedcom/2014/05/09/spatial-environmental-education/