Teams in Engineering Science (TIES) Program
One of the Conservancy’s newest partners is called Teams in Engineering Service (TIES) from the University of California San Diego. The TIES program is a multi-disciplinary approach to educate tomorrow’s technology leaders, conduct leading edge research, and transfer discoveries to ensure societal benefit. The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Jacobs School of Engineering, San Diego Supercomputer Center, the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology and AT&T. Students in the TIES program have worked on two projects for the River Park: remote water quality monitoring and information kiosks along the trail.
Lakeside’s River Park Conservancy was chosen out of numerous applicants to be one of the founding partners of this program. The TIES program started in fall of 2004 and the ideas generated thus far have captured our imagination.
Remote Monitoring
Remote monitoring in the east pond allows us to place a variety of instruments on the site that will measure such things as birdcalls or water temperature on a 15- minute time frame and then wirelessly send the information back to a computer in our office. We get real-time information that will tell us what kinds of animals are using the site. Are there more hawks, more swallows, more endangered species visiting and breeding on the site? Is the water cleaner as it flows through the reeds and willows? Questions such as these will be answered easily. In Spring, 2008, the first water-quality remote monitoring station was deployed.
Infostream 3000 Kiosk
As we restore the river, as we begin construction on trails or the
nature and cultural center, or as the swallows return to the river, we want to be able to tell people about it. The TIES students came up with an idea to place a computer touch-screen display on the trail. They call this the Infostream 3000. We placed the first of these devices along the trail so that people can see what is going on in the river park and learn more. Unfortunately, vandals stole the solar panel that provided power to the kiosk, so it has been temporarily removed.
The TIES program is a long-term project. These wonderful students will be with us for many years, helping us develop ideas and making sure that our river park contains the best of both worlds, tying technology to nature and to the community of Lakeside.