Earlier this year, the Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge and Vulcan County successfully applied for a MITACS research grant, funding for a project that pushes the limits of remote sensing technologies in looking for unmarked graves in Vulcan County.

To make this project happen, MITACS provided 50% of the funding or $15,000. Vulcan County has funded 25% of the project or $7,500. The remaining 25% of the funding came from the communities of Carmangay, Lomond and Milo, with each village contributing $500 and each community contributing $2,000. The sponsoring community groups are the Carmangay Historical Society, the Carmangay Agricultural Society, the Lions Club of Lomond, and the Lions Club of Milo.

This project will help resolve a longstanding problem of “lost” graves, enhancing our awareness of local history while contributing to the respectful management of our cemeteries. The data generated will have significant practical applications, especially as it concerns creating and updating cemetery profiles to local geographic information system (GIS) profiles that then identify unmark graves.

In this effort, we are fortunate to be working with Dr. Craig Coburn of the University of Lethbridge, benefiting from his expertise as well as the additional resources that he has at his disposal. Supporting his research and field work is research intern Paul Novoseltzev.