AGRG Directed Studies Project Ashley Lawrence & Meredith Roik

Outline  Introduction: What is community mapping?  Who is involved in community mapping?  Importance of community mapping  Who we taught  Methods of Instruction  Reference materials for those who attended  Future workshops under development  Conclusion

What is Community Mapping?  Approaches a way to expand access to “local knowledge”  Visualizing community-based knowledge and perceptions encourages the exchange of information and equalizes opportunities for all members of the community to participate in processes that affect their neighbourhoods and lives. -Wansoo Im, Ph.D Centre for Community Mapping, May 14,

Who is involved in community mapping?  Community organizations  Citizen associations  Non-Profit Organizations  Other locally-situated civil institutions  Minority and specialized groups

Importance of Community Mapping  Improve and increase public involvement Allow the community and its members an opportunity to evaluate design and planning proposals and visualize the impacts that decisions may have on the future of a community  A significant contribution to geography Process of collecting and improving geospatial data Enhancing our knowledge of the Earth Local focus Engaging citizens

 A desire to fill gaps in available data Especially in areas where data are not available Or where access is denied for security  Help the average person advance with technology Not just a select few (technical experts) who know ‘what to do’ Importance of Community Mapping

 Wikimapia An Example

Who we taught  Kingstech NSCC Campus As part of their Wellness Week, we introduced them to GeoCaching  Coastal CURA Local community group concerned with Maritime water resources  Lawrencetown Consolidated School Introduced Grade 4 students to GPS and how to map in Google Earth  Bridgetown High School Demonstrated to grade 9’s how to collect GPS data and display in Google Earth  Bridgetown Elementary School Introduced Grade 4 students to GPS and how to map in Google Earth Coastal CURA LCS

Methods of Instruction  Modified and created a variety of PowerPoint presentations  Hands-On learning with the GPS units and with the HP Tablets  Moodle for continued learning and access all presentations and reference material  Demonstrate to teachers ways to incorporate GPS/GIS into the academic curriculum

Lesson Plan  Brief Introduction to GPS and how to use the GPS units (Garmin GPSmap 76x)  Outside to collect GPS points and tracks

Lesson Plan  Download collected points and tracks  Demonstrate how to display collected data in Google Earth

Presentations / Tutorials we made that are available on Moodle

Reference Material

Coastal CURA March 6 & 7 Lawrencetown Consolidated School May 13 & 15

Workshops under development  Coastal CURA: Workshop focused more on GIS using various (free) available software with attention on each member’s personal GIS needs  School Groups Visiting more classes and demonstrating how to use GPS and the HP Tablets Find GIS software for teachers to use and show students (ArcVoyager, ArcExplorer Student Edition)

Conclusion  “ GPS and Google have changed how many people view and think about their ‘space’ ” - Christopher J. Seeger Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist September 19, 2007 (Santa Barbara conference on Volunteered Geographic Information)

Thank you to …  Bob Maher, Roger Mosher, Heather Stewart, Jeff Wentzell, and numerous other (behind the scenes) staff members from AGRG  David MacLean and Paul Illsley from COGS  Bill Whitman from Coastal CURA  Nick Baskwill and Lynn Roscoe from Lawrencetown Consolidated School  Patricia Thomas from Bridgetown High School  Mr. Saunders and Mrs. Rafuse from Bridgetown Elementary School