| “We were really focused on making it as useful and user-friendly as possible.” | |
| Christine Manninen, Great Lakes Commission |
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Beachgoers in the Great Lakes can now check for water quality advisories and weather and water conditions with the click of a smartphone button. While this is the first smartphone application developed by the Great Lakes Commission, harnessing mobile technology for environmental uses will likely become coastal managers’ outreach tool of choice in the future.
“It’s mainly for the convenience of it,” says Christine Manninen, communications director for the Great Lakes Commission and head of the Great Lakes Information Network. “If a person is heading to the beach or a tourist is searching for beaches in the area, it’s easy to use their phone to find information.”
She adds, “It’s a great way to promote Great Lakes tourism and beaches, and protect human health when there are water quality advisories.”
Released in late May, MyBeachCast provides real-time Great Lakes beach data for Android smartphones. It allows users to discover the closest local beaches and save beach locations for future reference.
“It’s GPS-enabled so users can quickly locate other nearby beaches in the case of a water quality advisory at their favorite beach,” Manninen says. Advisory and closure data are available from all eight Great Lakes states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
MyBeachCast is also linked to the Great Lakes Observing System, which enables users to find information on weather, wave height, current conditions, and water temperatures.
Developed by the Great Lakes Commission in partnership with LimnoTech and the Great Lakes states, the app was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
With input from the beach management community, Manninen worked with a Web designer, programmers, and the contractor to develop the app.
They chose to create the app with an Android platform first because research showed it was the fastest growing market. If funding is available, Manninen would like to expand the app to the iPhone platform.
The most challenging part of developing the app, she says, was acquiring the necessary data from the states. “Once we worked with a couple states, we knew exactly what we needed and were able to develop a process.”
They also spent a lot of time determining the app’s functions and navigation. “We were really focused,” Manninen says, “on making it as useful and user-friendly as possible.”
She notes that the app was designed to automatically draw all its data dynamically, so there shouldn’t be a lot of maintenance.
Since being released Memorial Day weekend, about 2,000 people have downloaded the app. Team members conducted surveys about the the app at 10 beaches in June and July and will use the feedback to make upgrades to MyBeachCast.
“It was a great team effort,” Manninen says. “Developing an app was new to all of us, and I’m really proud of the results.”
She adds, “I’m excited about doing another one. Mobile is definitely the direction we’re going.”
For more information or to download MyBeachCast, go to http://beachcast.glin.net. You may also contact Christine Manninen at 734-971-9135, ext. 112, or manninen@glc.org.
