Since the app’s launch last Fall, it has been praised by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the National Wildlife Federation, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, and posted as a public resource by Maryland’s Department of the Environment to support Maryland’s goal of planting 5 million trees by 2031.
Inspired by their time at Boolean Girl, Aydina and Sufyana realized there was an opportunity to help Maryland residents and business owners easily figure out which native plants to select for their gardens depending on light, soil, and other needs. Native plants are vital in everything from water reduction to attracting and supporting local wildlife and pollinators. They brainstormed with their community to determine what would be a fun, interactive, and inter-generationally engaging way to get the message across, and the idea for the Maryland Native Plans Search app was born. Their goal is to help Maryland residents and business owners attract native species and pollinators while avoiding invasive species and unwanted animals and insects.
“We love being able to use technology to solve real world problems and help our community,” said Aydina.
Sufyana and Aydina used resources shared by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection and Maryland’s Department of the Environment to match plants and animals of the Maryland/Piedmont Region. As Boolean Girl students, Sufyana and Aydina learned Scratch and Python as well as the Thonny coding platform. These skills gave them the confidence and helped prepare them to use Javascript and Visual Studio Code when developing their app. Sufyana worked mostly on the HTML and Javascript code while Aydina worked mainly on gathering the information and creating the native plants database. Both girls worked on the CSS styles to make the app look professional. They used GitHub so they could both work on the code at the same time without overwriting each other’s changes, and they used Visual Studio Code to write and test and debug the app before publishing it.
“We like the way the different languages each serve a specific purpose and let us split up the app in a way that makes sense,” said Sufyana. “For example, HTML lets us build the structure of the app, Javascript lets us dynamically update the page and respond to user input, and CSS lets us customize the way it all looks…It would be much more messy if all of these things were combined into one bulky language.”
What’s next for the Johnson sisters? They are always thinking about different ways to apply technology to real world problems, whether in the environment, in the classroom, or for business applications. AI is at the forefront of technology right now, and they are imagining new opportunities to make the Maryland Plant Search app even more useful and user-friendly using that technology.
“All ideas have the potential to be great ideas,” said Aydina.
Do you have an idea you want to develop into a great idea like Aydina and Sufyana? They recommend picking a goal you can achieve and be prepared to work hard to finish it, even if you face some challenges.
“Boolean Girl taught us the importance of never giving up, to keep on trying even if something doesn’t work right away,” said Sufyana.
The sisters also found it was more work than they expected to gather all of the plant data into a database and to get all of the code working. They had a lot of features they wanted to add, but they decided to only include the necessary elements for the first version so that they could finish and release the app.
“The experience taught us that when coming up with an app concept,” said Sufyana, ”it is important to think about how exactly your users will engage with your app, not just what they will do or what the user interface or technical foundation is.”
Want to help out? View their video and check out the Maryland Native Plans Search app the next time you’re planting and planning your garden!