The Spatial Journey: A Visual Narrative of the Keffi to Makurdi Field Trip

Umar Yusuf 

Background: Field-based education is a critical academic component in geographical studies, designed to bridge theoretical knowledge with empirical observation. This paper reports on the development of a visual and interactive geospatial narrative based on a five-day geography educational field trip from Keffi to Makurdi, Nigeria, from the 26th to the 30th of August 2024. Objective: The primary aim is to create an accessible web map utilizing collected field trip datasets. Specific objectives for this study include (i) geospatial capturing of significant features and points of interest along the route; (ii) documenting and structuring the resulting spatial, non-spatial, and multimedia datasets; and (iii) producing an animated web-based visualization and web mapping. Methodology: The study used a GPS-enabled smartphone, a handwritten field book, and a digital camera to capture 102 geotagged waypoints (latitude, longitude, altitude, and timestamp) along the route. The waypoints, together with digitized local-government and ward boundaries produced in QGIS version 3.42.2-Münster, were published as a freely accessible, layer-controlled interactive web map. Leveraging the principles of Web Cartography and Visualization (WCV), these processed layers were then integrated into an interactive web-based map hosted on a web page at: www.UmarYusuf.com/nsuk/fieldtripmap. The same field programme included structured site visits to the Benue Geographic Information Service (BENGIS), the Benue State Urban Development Board (BUDB) and the Oracle Business Limited (OBL), during which the institutional workflow for issuing a digital Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and the use of a river-gauge station for flood early-warning were documented. Result: Results show that a low-cost smartphone-and-web-GIS pipeline can produce a citable, reproducible spatial dataset from routine fieldwork, and that the recorded geographical features were spatially distributed across nine Local Government Areas (seven in Nasarawa State and two in Benue State) and thirty-two political wards (twenty-six and six in Nasarawa and Benue states respectively). Conclusion: This study successfully demonstrates the practical application of geospatial technology in creating a robust experiential learning tool, underscoring the vital educational significance of mandatory student field excursions for fostering academic learning and recommending their continued, essential integration into the curriculum.