A frequent problem encountered by journalists is how we can use technology like satellite imaging to provide more depth to stories on environmental degradation. This episode Yudhanjaya and Nadim discuss ways in which these maps can contribute to journalistic storytelling.

You can access the maps and get an overview of how we built these maps on ⁠GitHub⁠.

Music and sound effects from ⁠⁠⁠⁠u_5wgfa0ekjt⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠GoldenSound Labs⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay

This episode Yudhanjaya and Nadim look at the interplay between the tourism industry and loss of forest cover in Sri Lanka. We look at developments particularly in the "buffer zones" around national parks and protected forest areas.

Music and sound effects from ⁠⁠⁠⁠u_5wgfa0ekjt⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠GoldenSound Labs⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay

Deforestation and the loss of forest cover in Sri Lanka is an issue that the team at Watchdog has been passionate about, but how to go about telling this complex story? We needed a better vantage point.

In this episode we delve into how we used satellite imagery to build a series of detailed maps covering 2017-2024, the anomalies we discovered, and how agriculture features in this story.

You can access the maps and get an overview of how we built these maps on GitHub.

Our resident mechatronics engineer (yes, we have one of those), has built a sensor kit for the budding home gardener!

Curious about how much light, heat, and moisture your plants are getting? Well then look no further, the Watchdog Agri Sensor Kit is just for you - the catch? You'll have to build it yourself or rope in your friendly neighbourhood electrician.

Schematics and a detailed guide can be found on GitHub

Music and sound effects from ⁠⁠u_5wgfa0ekjt⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠GoldenSound Labs⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠Pixabay

This week we're shifting from urban planning to agriculture with the launch of Lanka Wiki, a database we've put together on 70 crops. Each listing includes growing conditions and a difficulty rating. Listen on to find out more.

Whether you're a doomsday prepper or a city slicker looking to cut down on food costs, we think you will find this useful.

Music and sound effects from ⁠u_5wgfa0ekjt⁠ and ⁠GoldenSound Labs⁠ on ⁠Pixabay

Why build Colombo in Cities: Skylines? Yudhanjaya and Nadim discuss the use cases for Colombo's digital twin; from road design and the placement of bus stops to ideas surrounding basic urban planning.

Download the virtual city and access the wiki on ⁠GitHub⁠

Music and sound effects from ⁠u_5wgfa0ekjt⁠ and ⁠GoldenSound Labs⁠ on ⁠Pixabay

Why have two of the brightest minds at Team Watchdog spent the better part of the last 6 months playing a city-builder?

Welcome to Colombo in Cities: Skylines, our solution to the problems of ideation, visualization, and communication in urban planning for the city of Colombo!

Download the virtual city and access the wiki on GitHub

Music and sound effects from u_5wgfa0ekjt and GoldenSound Labs on Pixabay

Sri Lanka's economic crisis has caught the attention of international media outlets over the past couple of weeks. Two separate narratives are at play here. One is that China is the biggest obstacle to debt restructuring. The other is that private lenders who own our International Sovereign Bonds (ISB) are to blame. Our resident economist Umesh Moramudali points out that while both narratives have merit, neither are absolute truth.

All roads lead to doom; that's what seems to best describe transport policymaking in Sri Lanka since independence. On this episode of the Doghouse Nadim Majeed speaks to Prof. Amal Kumarage, head of the Moratuwa University's Department of Transport & Logistics, on his decades of research on the subject. We're covering everything from colonial history to the present day. 

Consider this a primer to our layman's thesis on Sri Lanka's Transport network available here - Too Slow Too Furious: Inside Sri Lanka's incompetent, inefficient, and increasingly overloaded transport systems. Read it and weep, get angry, or get inspired. 

Download the Watchdog App for Android!

Sri Lanka's economic crisis has become a favourite case study/guinea pig for parties seeking to push a certain narrative or to cherry-pick issues to discount others. From currency boards and the myth of the Chinese debt trap to the "ESG" spellbinding of the Green elites, it appears that every blue tick has their own narrative spin on what caused Sri Lanka's economic crisis.

Despite having debunked these myths and mis/disinformation many times over - here we go again. On this all in one debunking episode of the Doghouse we're discussing the motivations of these myth-peddlers and how woefully misinformed they are.