2.2a (2) Mapping Places: Sustainable Style!

To build up a picture of how sustainable our local community is.

A local camp (A-Z Ordnance Survey), access to the internet, digital camera, glue, string, a copy of the Green Map Icons V3 Complete Set Chart resource and a few hours.

The earlier activities will have helped you build up a picture of your local community. Now lets create a visual and physical map and what it looks like. Community mapping helps to bring all the global environmental problems and solutions down to a local level giving us a clear picture of what’s already going on where we live, and what we could do to make it better.

Green Map System have developed a global community based around local mapping and is now used in over 550 cities, towns and villages in 55 countries. The icons used in this exercise were created by them, young people and adults and cover all the areas that make up a community from all the communities point of view. Check out www.greenmap.org/youth for lots of free modules and resources to investigate your community further. As Green Maps say, “Think Global, Map local!”

a) Using the map, first of all identify which area you are going to cover. This could be a large county, a small neighbourhood or even your school.

b) Look at the Green Map Icons and the four key areas of the Sustainable Living section which you can map for your community:

1. Green Economy
2. Technology & Design
3. Mobility
4. Hazards & Challenges

c) Now start to place the icons on the map and bring what’s going on in your local community onto the page. You may need to look online and research what is going on if you’re not sure. Go out and see for yourself what’s going on and ask people if they can help you.

d) Using your camera or images from the web, bring your map to life with real photos, quotes, words and pictures. Try and make it is a colourful and creative as you can.

e) Complete your map with compass pointing north, an icon key, map title and know exactly which are you’ve charted. Be sure to share your map online at Greenmaps.org and with as many people in your community as possible! Just be sure to add the copyright below and credit yourself for all your hard work!

Now you’ve completed your map, what does it say to you? How sustainable is your local community? What are the hazards and challenges you face versus the solutions that being used? Do you see any areas for improvements or possible future challenges and solutions to what’s going on? Once you’ve thought about these, try and think about how you – in an idea world – would like your community to look like. How different is it?

Download Green Map Icons V3 Complete Set Chart

Green Map Icons © Green Map® System, 2008. All rights reserved.