Redlands, California— Esri announced the winners of its Storytelling with Maps Contest last night during the Special Achievement in GIS Awards at the Esri User Conference. Bret Whiteley and Anne Reynolds’ Buy Fresh, Buy Local Story Map, which highlighted local farmers, restaurants, and markets, took home the Best Overall award. The pair will receive a one-year ArcGIS Online subscription for winning the grand prize.
"Esri Story Maps harness the unique power of maps to tell exciting and engaging stories about the world," said Allen Carroll, leader of Esri’s Story Map team. "The winners of our Storytelling with Maps competition represent the best of a new and rapidly growing community of geo-storytellers. We hope their examples will inspire thousands of storytellers to explore this rich new medium."
People from around the world submitted more than 400 entries that covered the full gamut of Story Map templates. Contest judges selected the following 12 Story Maps as winners across the four contest categories:
Best Conservation, Environment, and Sustainability
- First Place and Grand Prize: Bret Whiteley and Anne Reynolds, Cape Cod Commission, for Buy Fresh, Buy Local
- Second Place: Carrie Tropasso, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, for Winter Activities in Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests
- Third Place: Nathan Walker, Audubon Alaska, for Pacific Flyway Marine IBAs
Best Travel and Destinations
- First Place: Adem Kurtipek, North Carolina State University, for Visit Turkey | Love at First Sight
- Second Place: Joe Cartier, City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, for Current City of Windsor Construction Detours
- Third Place: Sameer Bajracharya, ICIMOD, Nepal, for The World’s 14 Highest Peaks in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region
Best Science, Technology, and Health
- First Place: Jennifer Wahle, frox Die IT Fabrik, for Benthaus | Architekten als Baukunst Map
- Second Place: Annekatrien Debien, KSAT, for Oil Spill Monitoring from Space
- Third Place: Evan Thoms, US Geological Survey, for 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Photo Tour of Anchorage
Best Culture, History, and Events
- First Place: Jeremy Clark, NorthSouth GIS New Zealand, for Christchurch Central Recovery Plan—Anchor Projects
- Second Place: Ambra Ciarapica, Regione Umbria—Giunta Regionale, for Repertorio dei Paesaggi—Landscapes of Umbria Region
- Third Place: Darrik Farmer, City of Rexburg, Idaho, for Teton Dam Marathon
All first-prize winners will receive a copy of The Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects and a one-year subscription to Smithsonian magazine. Second- and third-place winners will also receive a one-year subscription to Smithsonian magazine. All winners will receive a plaque and a certificate in addition to the prizes listed above.
For more information about Esri Story Maps, visit esri.com/storymaps. To view all 12 winning apps, see the Storytelling with Maps Contest Winners map.
