Geospatial Technologies Lead the Living to the Dead

This project connected the living to the dead in ways that enriched visitor experience and preservation of an historic cemetery. The enumeration and documentation of the physical locations of veteran's gravesites in the Old section of OHC secured a $25,000 donation to guarantee their regular care and maintenance. UGA undergraduate and graduate students were introduced to a local cemetery with historic connections, statuary art, and how to apply geospatial technologies. One group of UGA students used SfM to create 3D models of OHC monuments that are accessible online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PMA5Y1ZDA). Proprietary software would undoubtedly enhance the visual quality of our final projects, but open software may be preferred for initial access to geospatial technologies. For example, educational institutions and non-profits organizations are more likely to first explore new geo-spatial technologies with freely distributed, open-source geospatial methods, software and image/map data before committing financial resources to purchase and learn proprietary software. In our opinion, many local groups are in need of assistance with basic geospatial skills. Technical skills required in this project (i.e., rectification, digitizing, developing attribute tables, simple queries, taking photographs) would be considered novice-level skills for professional GIS or remote sensing specialists. Sometimes, however, that is all that is needed to benefit the communities in which we live.