Self-led Beginners QGIS for Ecologists and Conservation Practitioners

The course is designed to enable you to become a competent GIS operator with a practical focus on producing survey maps and analysing data derived from your surveys.

This course uses the CIEEM's Learning, Management System (LMS), enabling you to work through materials at your own pace.

Through videos, this course introduces you to the open source (free) QGIS software which is now an industry standard in the ecological, conservation and consultancy sectors. It is suitable for complete beginners to GIS. The course is designed to enable you to become a competent GIS operator with a practical focus on producing survey maps and analysing data derived from your surveys.

This Self -Led learning course will cover basics including the QGIS interface, sourcing existing data and creating background maps using this data. You will then be able to create new species records and habitat maps, classify data, undertake basic analysis and prepare maps for inclusion in reports.

The course content is split into topics so that you can easily navigate your way through the sessions by watching demonstrations and replicating these as you go along. This course takes approximately 12 hours to complete.

Delegates should allow time to pre-load the QGIS software and supporting files (links to these will be provided). If you are using a firewall, e.g. on a corporate laptop, please ensure that your settings:

• allow the use of Wi-Fi
• do not prevent the download and installation of plugins (see below)
• allow you to download and save data for use on the course (we will be providing training data via Dropbox download during the course).

Ecological Consultants, Wildlife Trusts, Statutory Agency staff, conservation practitioners, students.

No existing knowledge of GIS is required. Good general I.T. literacy is expected.

• Describe the QGIS interface.
• Classify and label habitat and species data.
• Create new maps based on a habitat or species survey.
• Create a new habitat map for use in a report.
• Create a new habitat map for use in a report.
• Describe useful plugins for creating habitat maps.
• Manage attribute data.