Celebrate GIS Day 2021 through the eyes of our youth

Last year the City of Kelowna marked GIS Day (Geographic Information Systems) by releasing a Minecraft world digitally recreating Kelowna’s landscape in the game for players to build upon. The Kelowna world was a hit with Minecraft players across the Central Okanagan, which led to a spin-off with Camp OC at Okanagan College.   

Camp OC had previously offered Minecraft programming camps, but in 2021 the camp was inspired by the Kelowna world. “We challenged the campers to think about Kelowna, their community, and build what they thought was missing, underutilized or lacking,” said Rob Bro, Camp Instructor at Okanagan College. “They surprised and blew me away by what they came up with.”

Campers were tasked to build something in the Parkinson Recreation Park and they did not hold back on creativity in what they came up with. Some campers created tourist attractions, such as amusement parks, aquariums, zoos, nature resorts, museums and even bee and animal sanctuaries. While others focused on health services by building a cancer research centre. However, most campers built social services including numerous homeless shelters, inclusive community centres, affordable housing and libraries.  

“Screenshots of the buildings were shared with the planning team and it’s obvious we have some future city planners and GIS technicians at Camp OC,” said Ryan Smith, Divisional Director of Planning & Development Services at the City of Kelowna. “It’s amazing and reassuring to see that the youth of Kelowna have such an in-depth awareness of the challenges facing Kelowna.”