Tag Archives: HGIS

Funding-Work Opportunities

MHHK Project, Summer 2026

In partnership with the MITACS scheme, the University of Prince Edward Island is advertising two 12-week summer internships for students to work on the Mapping Historical Hong Kong spatial history project during Summer 2026. Students must be in the later three years of their undergraduate programmes, or enrolled joint undergraduate-to-masters programmes (please see eligibility requirements for further details). MITACS will provide successful applicants with funding for airfare, transportation, and accommodation, as well as a stipend for food and incidentals, any associated enrollment fees with UPEI, and a health insurance policy for the duration of their stay. Interested students must submit their applications by 17 September 2025.

Applications are due on 17 September 2025. It is relatively easy to apply, but it does require two letters of reference to be sent directly to the program by 24 September. To apply students should go to the Globalink website (below) and click “Apply Now.”

https://www.fulbright.ca/programs/undergraduate-students/fulbright-canada-mitacs-globalink-program

More details about the program of research are below, but to identify the project in the application system students need to enter “Larkin” in the “Faculty Last Name” field. The full ID and description are also pasted below.

https://globalink.mitacs.ca/#/student/application/projects

Feel free to reach out to Drs. Larkin or MacFadyen if you have any questions. We hope all eligible and interested candidates will apply!

Project ID 49248

Mapping Historic Hong Kong

Mapping Historic Hong Kong (MHHK) is a pilot initiative that uses mapping software to archive and visualise data regarding Hong Kong’s colonial development (1841-1997); and to make such information accessible to both a public audience and academic researchers through the creation of an open-access online mapping platform that allows users to explore Hong Kong’s growth and uncover a range of information about its urban development. The MHHK project’s overarching goal is to use digital mapping to develop an open-access online platform that spatially organises archival records, historical data, and visual materials related to Hong Kong’s colonial development between 1841 and 1997. Under this directive, the MHHK project has two primary objectives: I. To address the challenges of changing archival access and historical narratives about Hong Kong’s colonial past through spatially organised archival data and visual storytelling. II. To use the digital medium of mapping to cultivate a renewed interest in the relationship between history, space, and place. The project uses the QGIS platform to build a suite of georeferenced maps from primary source materials to visualize Hong Kong’s historic development. These maps integrate archival materials from the Hong Kong History Centre’s forthcoming Historical Photographs project and archives, the Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library, and spatial data from the Hong Kong Public Records Office’s Land Registry. Affiliated with the Hong Kong Spatial Data Project, MHHK is part of a new effort to explore how digital mapping tools and new technologies can be integrated with historical research to encourage urban heritage and an appreciation for histories of urban space and/or place, while benefiting both academic researchers and the wider public.

Glen Property Visit, July 2019

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An area of Bill Glen’s woodlot. The nut orchard is slightly visible in the background.

On Wednesday 18 July, some of the GeoREACH Lab team members took a trip into the field (literally) to visit Bill and Elizabeth Glen’s land in the Bonshaw area of Lot 30, Prince Edward Island. Bill and Elizabeth are well known in PEI genealogical and historical circles, and Bill was formerly a forester with the PEI Provincial Government. He now serves as a forest and woodland consultant, and he co-authored a chapter with Josh MacFadyen in the University of Calgary Press collection on Historical GIS Research in Canada. The Glens have been on their property since the early 1980s, and they were able to provide some real insight into how the land has changed over the last forty years, including how they managed the forest, fields, and hedgerows!

Bill Glen, GeoREACH Lab Director Dr. Josh MacFadyen, and research assistants Nolan Kressin and Abby Craswell.

The team has studied Lot 30 extensively using aerial photos and historical maps on GIS. We were excited to explore the real area that we have been examining from above for the last several months. It reminded us that our research is much bigger than just a computer screen! We could see the changes that have occurred in the land since the aerial photos that we are currently studying were taken in 1968, before the implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan (for more on that see this post). Some of these changes include hedgerow planting, the appearance of new homes, and a new nut orchard on the property.

Research assistants Nolan Kressin, Nick Scott, and Abby Craswell (L-R) in the field.

While on this excursion, we learned about hedgerow and woodlot composition, as well as the importance of biodiversity and climate change adaptability in wooded areas. White spruce (what we use to plant most of our hedgerows) is incredibly vulnerable to slight shifts in climate! Bill also showed us a hydraulic pump that dates back to 1890, which he still uses to pump water to the tank for his nut orchard. The GeoREACH team would like to thank Bill and Elizabeth Glen for having us to their home and sharing their knowledge of land-use change on Prince Edward Island.