About CSCR
CSCR enables high school students to explore their local environment, map it with geospatial technologies, analyze the data, and share it with stakeholders to inform best environmental management practices. They have partnered with a variety of institutions, such as government agencies (e.g., Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary and MassDEP), research institutions (e.g., MIT Sea Grant and Mass Bays Program), colleges and universities (e.g., UMASS–Boston and Stonehill College), watershed associations (e.g., North South River Watershed and Neponset River Watershed Association), and local high schools (e.g., Cohasset and Scituate High Schools).
CSCR will facilitate environmental projects to help the community address the many environmental challenges that come with climate change. Students will develop the geospatial skills needed in an ever-evolving high-tech world. MassGIS will help lead the next generation of geospatial professionals and strengthen their connections with municipalities and community groups.
2026 Visit to MassGIS
Eight high school students from the CSCR program presented their community resilience projects to MassGIS in April. The CSCR program required students to meet outside of school thirty times and complete ten tutorials from The Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Online book. All the projects focused on community resilience, covering a range of topics including open space and clean water. Students analyzed data from the MassGIS website using ArcGIS Online.
| Student | High School | Presentation (Click to view the StoryMaps) |
|---|---|---|
| Owen MacDougall | Commonwealth School | In a Changing Climate, Protecting Our Community of Hingham |
| Liv DeGrass | Notre Dame Academy | Coastal Flood Risk in Hingham |
| Declan Bergan | Thayer Academy | Open Space Expansion and Preservation Cohasset, MA |
| Wilson Nussbaum | Cohasset High School | Sewer Vs Septic in Cohasset |
| Calvin Gainey | Cohasset High School | Cohasset's Expensive New Police Station |
| Henry Herman | Norwell High School | The Role of Conservation Land in Protecting Public Water in Norwell, MA |
| Christopher Maloney | South Shore Charter Public School | Weymouth Massachusetts Housing Problem |
| Rishik Kundu | Chelmsford High School | Chelmsford Vehicular Accidents Examination |
After successfully presenting their research, each student received a Certificate of Proficiency signed by Jason Snyder, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security; Cy Smith, MassGIS Director and State Geographic Information Officer; and Jack Buckley, CSCR Executive Director.
2025 Visit to MassGIS
CSCR’s 2025 research project focused on environmental data and geospatial technology. The CSCR team examined the foundational lessons from the Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Online book and reconstructed them into environmental-based lessons using MassGIS Data. Students completed each reconstructed lesson step by step and then completed a similar skill for their environmental topic, demonstrating mastery of the lesson. The final product was an environmental community-based ArcGIS StoryMap that stood as evidence of applied geospatial skills, which the students used to answer the question: How valuable is open space to your town?
Three students, Rishik Kundu of Chelmsford and Charlotte Lynch and Rosemary Guzek of Scituate presented their StoryMaps to State GIO and Director of MassGIS Cy Smith and MassGIS Deputy Director Tom Mueller.
CSCR intern Kelly Kowenhoven and CSCR students Charlotte Lynch, Rosemary Guzek and Rishik Kundu
The students examined a variety of issues, including heat severity, flood impacts, and protecting their water supply. Their understanding of geospatial tools and their applications was very impressive, and they presented their findings effectively.
View the students' StoryMaps on the value of open space:
In addition, CSCR intern Kelly Kowenhoven presented her Experience Builder application on Bacteria Counts in the Cohasset and Gulf River.
Each student received a Certificate of Proficiency signed by Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security Jason Snyder, Cy Smith, and CSCR Executive Director Jack Buckley.
MassGIS and CSCR are currently working on improving the program for its next session in Fall 2025.
The students also created StoryMaps highlighting their GIS Skills:
| Date published: | July 24, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Last updated: | April 23, 2026 |