Ulster County Climate Dashboards

Climate Corps Dashboards for Ulster County Government

By Adam Koplik

Overview

During the summer of 2023, I worked as a Climate Data Intern for Ulster County Government. I was responsible for developing a series of ArcGIS dashboards and web tools to help visualize climate-related data for public policy initiatives. I also led a small team of interns, tracked their project progress, and consolidated their work into a public-facing website to improve the visibility of county-wide climate programs.

Project Scope

  • Developed a Climate Corps Dashboard website to showcase multiple intern-led climate data projects.
  • Built several interactive ArcGIS dashboards visualizing key climate-related and public health datasets, including:
    • Disadvantaged communities map
    • Healthcare desert analysis
    • Population vulnerability by census tract
  • Managed a team of interns, organized weekly check-ins, and compiled their deliverables into a polished, navigable online resource for the public and local government officials.
  • Contributed to public outreach by presenting dashboard demos to county departments and participating in community climate action briefings.

Tools and Technologies

  • ArcGIS Online
  • ArcGIS Dashboards
  • HTML, CSS (for website layout)
  • Microsoft Excel (data cleaning and prep)
  • Google Sheets and Google Docs (project tracking)

Key Results

  • Delivered a centralized Climate Corps Dashboard website consolidating multiple data visualization projects for Ulster County.
  • Created clean, accessible maps and dashboards to highlight priority public health and environmental justice issues within the county.
  • Increased public awareness and internal visibility of climate data initiatives through interactive tools and presentations.
  • Established a sustainable framework for future intern cohorts to expand and add projects.

Takeaways

This role gave me hands-on experience working in local government data operations, team leadership, and public sector data visualization. It improved my skills in project management, dashboard development, and communicating complex data to non-technical audiences.

Notable Dashboards

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Ulster County Department of the Environment and my fellow interns for their work on these projects.