Event: Hyderabad Karnataka Karwaan | Understanding Open Natural Ecosystems by mapping | on Dec 7, Bengaluru

[Adhavan Sivaraj]

Good evening folks,

The Hyderabad Karnataka Karwaan is a series of events that bring us closer to the people, movements, ecologies of the region. As part of the Karwaan, we have been hosting events where people come together and map to understand Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs): Grasslands, Open Shrubs, Water systems and the many complex interactions within it. 

We are hosting one again on the 7th of December (Sunday) at Samagata, Church Street, Bangalore. We have consistently used OpenStreetMap to map, but this time, we are trying out an exciting, but old way to map, haha. We are going to be using large paper maps of patches of ONEs in Bidar District, Hyderabad Karnataka. Please find a poster attached for the event. 

For our last Karwaan, we developed a visual glossary of ONEs located in Bidar to help map, we will be expanding and using it to understand water systems in these ONEs specifically.

All are welcome, please join us from 10AM to 5PM. This event is being hosted by the School for Sensitive Ecologies at Living Labs Institute.
 
Please RSVP at: https://nc.livinglabs.network/apps/forms/s/8p95mSdE2eFxajwq8pnyR6YT


Hope to see many of you,
Adhavan,
Fellow, Living Labs Institute.

Ps: I realise that this may not be directly tied to open-data, but I will take this opportunity to explain why we are not using OpenStreetMap this time. We have introduced many people to OSM through these events, they have found it convenient to pick it up in a few minutes but one thing that breaks both theirs and our minds is the attempt to classify something. Is something actually a shrub? What are grasslands - that are also commons or grazing grounds? What is the small portion in-between the lake, the wetland and the grasslands beside it? I am sure an ecologist in the field may classify it within a schema very well, but does it need such a rigid system of classification? How do we make it known that this patch transforms in the month of March when there is a Jaatre, where people walk across farms, grasslands, next to lakes, in the rocky patches, a distance of more than 70 kilometres from Aland, Gulbarga to Ashoor, Bidar? Not everything fits within the OSM schema, that is why we are using paper maps, to first learn what exists and defies classification in the social and cultural landscapes that are ONEs.