Mapping the great outdoors

Jul 25

*Lesley Johnson and colleagues from Trans Canada Trail participating in a trail cleanup of le P’tit Train du Nord trail. Photo submitted by Lesley Johnson*

By Patricia Lane & Lesley Johnson

These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.

Lesley Johnson creates maps to help us explore Canada’s nature trails. As manager of geographic information system (GIS) mapping for Trans Canada Trail, this 31-year-old Montrealer leads a team that provides decision-makers with advice about existing trail maintenance and enhancement, and new trails.

Tell us about your work.

Trans Canada Trail looks after over 28,000 kilometres of nature trails connecting Canada’s three coasts. We make it increasingly easy for the public to enjoy them. This might involve adding culturally relevant information at places along the trail - for example, the history of Black people in Canada. Or we might display some history of the Lachine Canal beside it on the trail. We also provide decision-makers with information about which parts of the trail can be made more accessible to persons with disabilities.

We identify gaps in the network with the goal of making it available to everyone.

Maintaining a network this large requires significant resources. We collect information about where repairs or maintenance are needed. Our work is made even more challenging by erosion or destruction caused by forest fires, flooding and other climate impacts. Sadly, sometimes we must map an area as closed to the public for these reasons.

My team uses a combination of open GIS data and local knowledge to ensure the information is as up to date and accurate as possible.

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