2023 SAG Award Winners

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

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Project Goal

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) recently acquired the Michigan Green Schools Program as new program initiative, where local public and private schools are certified when they achieve environmental stewardship goals that protect the air, land, water, and animals of Michigan. The GIS staff at EGLE saw the potential to modernize and streamline the program’s workflows and create a more user-friendly experience for participating schools using ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Hub Premium, ArcGIS Survey123, ArcGIS Dashboards, and Microsoft Power Automate.
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Business Problem Solved

Previously, certification was completed by mailing paper applications to county coordinators that approved schools based on their completed environmental activities. County coordinators had to keep track of applications and notifications to awarded schools. This project created a single portal where schools could go to submit their applications, county coordinators could sign in to approve the applications, and notifications were sent automatically when applications were submitted and approved.

Technology Implemented

This solution used a variety of Esri technology, including ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Hub Premium, ArcGIS Survey123, and ArcGIS Dashboards. The main Green Schools portal was created using ArcGIS Hub Premium. The portal features a web map of certified schools and county coordinator contact information. Applications are submitted through Survey123. Applications are reviewed by county coordinators using a Survey123 embedded in an ArcGIS Dashboard that populates based on the coordinator's selected county.

Development Team Biography

Kate Berg is the GIS Lead for the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), where she is responsible for the administration of EGLE’s web GIS , the coordination and support of EGLE'S GIS user group, and the development of geospatial solutions.

Kevin McKnight is the GIS Manager for EGLE. He is responsible for the management of the on-site and cloud based GIS environments being used at EGLE. He also represents EGLE as the Chief Data Steward and acts as the GIS database administrator for the department.

Eileen Boekestein is the Environmental Education Coordinator for EGLE. She has over 15 years of experience in environmental education and community engagement. Her emphasis is on place-based stewardship education, environmental literacy, and civic engagement in environmental issues.