GlobalGiving.co.uk: Green Maps for a more sustainable future!

New Mobile Green Maps! June 12 is Match Day!

Wendy Brawer — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:59:09 GMT

Explore GreenMap.org on mobiles!

Hello GlobalGiving Donors!

Wednesday is a special Match day – starting at 9AM EST, your donation will help us accomplish 50% more!

Today, we have good news to share – there’s a brand new way to explore Green Maps!

Got a mobile phone or tablet? Check out GreenMap.org on your browser. Experience this new interactive map on your desktop at http://m.greenmap.org too!

As you explore and zoom in, more sites from the Open Green Map will come into view. Finally, you can explore green sites in relationship to each other while you’re on the go.

Created with the help of a Google-sponsored 24HoursofGood hack day, Green Map’s mobile website is ‘responsive’ - it automatically changes shape to fit your device.

37 countries now use the Open Green Map platform, so our new mobile website is exciting to hundreds of communities worldwide who are announcing it to their audiences now too! Zoom around or tap the top square and type in a different location. If your city’s sites are not on the map, consider leading a new Green Map project.

Next, we are planning to build new iPhone and Android apps with more features, including site collection and the interactive mobile map, but we need your help! Please donate and share this link - http://goto.gg/1965 - with your friends, social media, etc.

On June 12, your donation will be matched! Give this Wednesday at 9AM EST - GlobalGiving’s pool of matching funds will only last a couple hours, so set your clock, please. 50% more! Give $20, we’ll receive $30! Give $100, we’ll receive $150, 50% more up to $1000!

Give this project a running start! Our Open Green Map platform and new ways to explore it - including this mobile website and apps – are continually being improved to support progress toward a sustainable future.

Thank you! Together we can Connect, Inform, Inspire!

Zoom in and around to see more green sites

Select a Location, Map or List

Links:

Thank you for supporting the Open Green Map platform!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:35:38 GMT

JoburgGreenMap.co.za has embedded a Green Map

This is a very exciting season for Green Map System – not only have we begun updating the sustainability mapping platform that you so have generously supported, we have created new ways to explore the hundreds of Open Green Maps that have already been created!

Thanks to you, we have a very successful proof of concept - Open Green Maps are now being made in 38 countries. Today, nearly 350 interactive maps are in public view containing over 30,000 sites. You can see the total number change on the home page each day, and also see which three maps are most recently updated. All of these Green Maps welcome your contributions of new sites, as well as images, videos and comments. Thousands of impacts are visible as more and more people discover hopeful green living sites in their local environment.

Open Green Maps on Facebook
New: encounter an Open Green Map embedded in a Facebook page! Social media integration is underway - we’ll in link an example from Johannesburg South Africa below.

There are now hundreds of embedded Open Green Maps! At GreenMap.org/nyc-energy, we have created five different views of the Energy Map of NYC, highlighting boroughs and basemaps (and Sandy's flood line) in our “Embed this Map’ campaign. Every Green Mapmaker can offer their Open Green Map centered and zoomed in different ways!

Upcoming….
We are especially proud of the way Open Green Map has made it possible to share local perspectives on changing environments at virtually no cost. At a time when awareness of climate change is soaring and new local options for lower impact living are becoming more abundant, Green Maps are indispensible.

This summer, we will be working hard on fundamental improvements to this award-winning mapping platform. Some improvements incorporate newly available technologies, others address new needs of the maps’ makers and users. It’s been exciting to conduct the first Mapmaker surveys, confer with experts, plan with our board and staff, and bring in new team members and volunteers.

With your help, it’s going to be a high impact season. You will hear more of our plans just in time to have your donation matched by Global Giving on June 12th. We invite you to click the 3rd link below, and join our mailing list, too!

Thank you for pitching in – hundreds of communities are benefiting as a result!

Click the tab next to Photos to interact with map

Sharing Open Green Maps is easy!

Links:

From A to Z with Green Map

Wendy Brawer — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:45:18 GMT

Selected Updates since our Bellagio 'summit'

An important part of our work involves meeting potential partners and helping people get ‘up to speed’ with our tools. In 2013, visitors from A to Z have been in our New York office – quite literally including five Albanian mayors on a US study tour and a group of Zambian tourism officials who will be hosting the United Nations World Tourism Organization conference this fall.

Both these groups came to us through the US State Department’s International Visitor Program, which recently gave us a Certificate of Appreciation for sharing our time with these and other guests. We are fortunate to have a recent case study from Albania (linked below) to round out our presentation, and to have experienced mapmakers in the region to follow up with the Africans. In between, Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur visited our office to invite our director to the first Green and Accessible Pilgrimage conference in April (see greenpilgrimjerusalem.org).

Regional and local Green Mapmakers are welcome visitors, too.

• Coming from Central Pennsylvania, Beatriz Casteneda is preparing the Hershey Green Map launch for the community’s international celebration in March, and will set her Open Green Map against a backdrop of global Green Maps.

• Montclair New Jersey team member Peg Seip came to discuss recovery mapping and how we can co-develop a participatory planning process that is relevant to low income coastal communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy. We linked a short video about using Green Maps in crisis situations below).

• Our neighboring East River Park was also hard hit, and we have begun planning a bicycling tour series and mapping project with community groups that draws upon our post-Sandy ‘reality tour.’

This represents just a few of the interactions we have since the year began. Our office has been busy with our Less = More NYC Green Map project which includes a great printed map to some of the most iconic reuse and waste reduction sites across the city. We’ve just added some updates to our Bellagio Reflections report (linked below) and we’re moving closer to launching our Icon Lab.

Celebrate with us on Wednesday March 27

Join us in celebrating the Green Map Archive in its new home from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the New York Public Library’s Map Room, 5^th Avenue at 42^nd Street. There will be a tour of the map collection and a chance to see some of the unusual and unique published Green Maps in this collection of nearly 800 maps, education and outreach materials created by Green Mapmakers worldwide. We’ll also be launching our new NYC website and officially thanking the designers at OTTO NY and desigNYC.org who made GreenMapNYC.org possible. All are welcome to this free event, rescheduled due to Sandy’s aftermath.

We wish you all the best this season and thank you for your ongoing support of the Green Map network!

Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor Tsur (center) visits us

Supporting 'STEM' and eco-education in Albania

Links:

Post-Sandy Efforts around Green Map's Home in NYC

Wendy Brawer — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:48:13 GMT

Sandy's highwater mark is on our interactive map

Many have asked how we fared in the midst of Hurricane Sandy. We have been quite lucky. The floodwaters stopped just 1.5 blocks from our office in lower Manhattan's East Village, sparing this lovely old building from damage. Nevertheless, both the office and my apartment lost power for the entire workweek. Using our bicycles, we found places to work outside the dark zone, and helped pitch in on the relief efforts.

We decided to add the high water mark to our interactive map of NYC's energy resources to help people make the connection between energy conservation, renewables and climate change. This is a theme we have included in our hometown Green Maps for many years. You can even download the PDF of our 2006 edition (to the right of the online map under Info), which outlines infrastructure impacts and other aftermath realities. We designed the interactive edition so you can embed it in your own website or blog, sharing knowledge and awareness - use the link that's below in this report.

It's stunning to see how and where the water rose and as you probably know, Sandy has become a broad call to action for a more resilient approach to planning for climate change. We're surveying Green Mapmakers now and hope to share updated mapping resources shortly. In the coming weeks, we're using FEMA's data to add more regional impacts to the map, too, and expect to share these with other maps on the Open Green Map platform.

While we had several Sandy-related postponements, including our planned Green Map Archive Launch event (new date TBA), we are happy to invite you to two events in December:

On Sunday December 2nd, join the Adapting to Change Cycling Tour. Riders will explore resilient solutions that reduce energy consumption and increase climate awareness. Noted speakers will be joining us on this free ride (click our Facebook link below to RSVP). This ride builds on our ’10 Days of Climate Action’ prize-winning Green Culture Cycling Tour, and its resulting map.

On Wednesday December 19, come for a bit of holiday cheer from 6 to 9 pm at Green Map's office, 220A East 4th Street, in the East Village between Aves A & B. All are welcome, no need to RSVP.

We're taking part in #GivingTuesday on Nov 27 and of course, we invite you to support our work at this time. You can be sure we're working hard to support the social change needed to address climate change in hundreds of communities at once!

OpenGreenMap.org/nycenergy with sites toggled off

Follow us on Twitter on #GivingTuesday or anytime!

Links:

The Green Map Archive is on the move!

Wendy Brawer & Aaron Reiss — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:46:22 GMT

Collected since 1995, our Archive is on the move!

To our dear supporters:

This message begins with a call to action, responding to the surprise announcement from Global Giving -
Global Giving just began a new promotion wherein they will match the base donation amount of any monthly recurring donation that is set up by this Friday, September 7th. For example: if you sign up for a monthly recurring donation of $25 and if you stay subscribed through the end of 2012, Global Giving donate an additional one-time sum of $25! Your base amount can be $10 to $200 for this match!

The promotion comes at a great time as Green Map System is finalizing a landmark archiving project in collaboration with the New York Public Library. This fall, the entire Green Map Archive will be moved to one of the world's premier map collections, the Map Division at the library’s main branch in midtown Manhattan. This will create a permanent home for over 500 locally designed and printed Green Maps along with a wide array of outreach and education resources. The Archive will include high-resolution digital versions of many of these intricate maps for research, exhibition, city planning and tourism purposes. Benefiting journalists, community planners and sustainability proponents from all sectors of society, this Archive also includes a selection of locally-produced reports, mapmaking guides, promotional posters and other exemplary Green Map resources. Our goal in the future is to connect the Archive to the Mapmaker’s profile on GreenMap.org, extending its usefulness worldwide.

With the involvement of several interns and information specialists, we are achieving an important goal. We will be inviting you to the celebration for this new Archive this fall.

Global Giving's promotion is a great opportunity for our program and we would be sincerely grateful if you could take part by Friday! Any recurring contribution made for at least 3 months after the initial donation, up to $200 a month, will have the increased impact of Global Giving's matching gift.

As always, thank you so much for all of your continued support for this effort to empower people working at the intersection of community engagement, sustainability and mapping. Best wishes for a beautiful end to the Summer, and a hope for an equally beautiful Fall.

Our Archive team in 2011

A selection of Asian Green Maps in the Archive

Links:

Bridging Economy & Ecology in 65 Countries

Wendy Brawer — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 17:38:42 GMT

Putting Cool Share on the map throughout Japan

Hello to our Global Giving supporter,

We invite you to contribute on Wednesday June 13* during GlobalGiving’s Match Day. We have exciting news – not only is Green Map System a Superstar and eligible for 50% more from GlobalGiving, but an anonymous donor will ‘match the match’ and your donations will be 100% doubled!

Match Day is so important to us. We hope you will contribute and let your friends know how our organization builds capacity for the participatory development of smarter, healthier and greener communities.

Maps are a powerful form of media. Now in 65 countries, local Green Map making teams are using our adaptable tools and technologies to share insights about green living and their home’s unique natural and cultural environment. Your support will help our award-winning organization work smarter and more effectively support more communities, collaborations and tools. We impact a diversity of locales:

- Japan, where participatory map making is bridging hope and energy mandates at a time of crisis,
- Cape Town South Africa where the fourth printed Green Map edition in three years is bridging economic and environmental initiatives,
- New Jersey, where several towns are bridging gaps in crucial information with interactive Open Green Maps.
- Download our Impacts book free from our GlobalGiving profile (scroll down to Additional Documentation).

The original Green Map of NYC was inspired by the Earth Summit. Now Rio+20, its 20th anniversary event, is upon us. Our practical approach has blossomed during this period and with your help, we have impacted 816 communities. All over the world, the maps and the map making process have proven their value as they guide the way to healthier local economies and environments. Please take action and extend these impacts today!

*Global Giving’s Match starts precisely at 12:01AM EDT on Wednesday June 13. The clock starts at 9 PM on Tuesday June 12 in San Francisco / West Coast; 6AM in Stockholm / Cape Town or 1PM in Tokyo. Your donations are tax deductible, where applicable.

Give early and help Green Map get a share of Global Giving’s matching funds as well as our own donor’s match, and double the impacts of your contribution. Thank you twice for your support!

Several major goals have been accomplished!

Exchange Reports by Green Teams in New Jersey USA

Links:

Milestones: 800 Projects, 63 Countries!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:53:33 GMT

IBSAR Green Map - Lebanon Biodiversity Village

Last week, Green Map System reached its 17^th anniversary. On the same day, March 25, the 800^th local Green Map project signed on! This is not only a milestone; it’s also our first project in Egypt, our 62^nd country. A family-friendly co-working center called Rasheed22 in Heliopolis, suburban Cairo, is leading this project. Welcome Heliopolis!

Two days later, the United Arab Emirates Green Map project was initiated by a Fulbright Scholar currently based in NYC, bringing our country total to 63. We welcome these two newcomers as we celebrate an exciting new book highlighting 18 Biodiversity Villages with Green Maps created in Lebanon at IBSAR - American University of Beirut’s Nature Conservation Center for Sustainable Futures. Written in Arabic, this 11MB booklet is downloadable below. Bridging cultural divides, Green Mapmaking shares information and engages meaningful participation that supports wellbeing in many cultures and eco-contexts.

As you can see, it’s been an “Arab Spring” for Green Map! Heliopolis and UAE represent just two of the thirteen new Green Maps registered to date in 2012.

We love seeing projects like Cardiff Wales’ take off, led by Sam Holt of Cardiff Transition. Over the last 4 months, he has created several Green Maps, all linked to his profile, using the Open Green Map platform to quickly share insights into how his community is ‘powering down’ by growing local, going renewable and becoming more resilient as a community. The Transition network got started in the UK to address these and other issues. Very much in parallel with Green Map’s objectives, local Transition initiatives are now creating Green Maps in the US (Tampa FL and Quincy MA), Australia (Port Phillip), and the UK (Edinburgh, Llantwit Major, Trawsnewid Llandrindod and Cardiff). Transition people are also getting involved in ongoing Green Map projects such as Geneva’s, where the Green Swiss project is expanding to chart regional resources.

Earth Day is coming! Find us in NYC at the Green Festival, April 21 - 22 at the Javits Center in Manhattan. We’ll be tabling both days, and our director will be taking part in the ‘Technology and the Economy of the Future’ on Saturday at 3pm. We’ll be collecting ideas for our forthcoming Less = More Green Map that will help New Yorkers prevent waste, debuting a new interactive Open Green Map about energy, and more.

Wherever you are, there is likely to be an Earth Day event involving local Green Mapmakers. We hope you will participate in an event in person or online – perhaps by suggesting a new site to supplement the 20,000 local resources on the Open Green Map – even a site right in your own backyard!

One of Cardiff's Open Green Maps

Milestone: 20,000 Open Green Map Sites

Links:

Thanks to You, We're Winning!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:00:39 GMT

Green Map's 2011 Awards

A quick shout out, holiday greetings and thanks to our wonderful network of supporters:

Green Map System is delighted to share the good news that the Open Green Map interactive mapping platform that you help to support through your Global Giving donations has just won its third award in 2011!

We won the NetSquared Invitational, an award that comes with a little cash and plenty of help for our ongoing development, which is really great because we have big plans for the year ahead!! A project of TechSoup, NetSquared is focused on the intersection of technology and social impact. Their soon-to-launch new website will feature our video and help us reach a diverse new audience, too.

2011 also brought other honors - we are recipients of one of the very first Victor J Papanek Social Design Awards - this honor features the Open Green Map in exhibitions in Vienna and New York, a book and other outcomes.

And thank you again to Treehugger.com! We received the Best of Green 2011 for our mobile app in the Science and Technology category (we were also honored in their tourism category in 2010). More about all of these awards is linked below.

Today, there are more than:
• 60 countries involved
• 785 cities, towns and campuses with locally-led Green Map projects
• 500 uniquely designed printed editions and
• 250 Open Green Maps, linked by
• 150 Green Map Icons

Awards are an important part of our outreach strategy and a testament to the value of our work and impacts on communities worldwide through engaged mapmaking. The NetSquared Invitational is the eighth award for Open Green Map and one of 23 international honors to Green Map System overall.

We invite you to explore Open Green Map's 19,300+ locally charted sites and consider using this remarkable social mapping resource to chart progress toward sustainability in your community, too!

Let's make 2012 a transformational year together. We're enclosing our gratitude for all you have done for us and our best wishes to all for a healthy, resilient, joyful and ecologically-sound year to come.

Our Director at the Papanek Awards by P. Aiolov

Rainbow over Green Map's office by T Baybutt

Links:

60 Countries! 775 Projects! Social Design Award!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:53:10 GMT

Green Map's 2011 awards

Guiding the Way to a Sustainable Future

So many people love their communities and care deeply about the world we all share. At Green Map System, we are always working to support each local initiative. By helping local people map out each green site and highlight its sustainability elements, new audiences and customers are drawn in. Tens of thousands of these green sites are on printed Green Maps, and you can interact with another 18,000 on Open Green Maps.

Our adaptable tools for communities, professionals and ‘crowdsourced’ Green Maps are continually evolving – help us meet the demand!

60 Countries!!

There are now Green Mapmakers in 60 countries, representing all inhabited continents. We reached this milestone as local projects got underway recently in Tibet, Serbia & Macedonia and Belgium. Latvia and The Gambia joined us in 2011, too. Click GreenMap.org/home to see where our network is growing and get our list of over 775 cities, towns and villages with Green Map projects (linked below).

How does this impact any single community? Check out the Blog and download the presentation by Janet Felsten of Baltimore Green Map that's linked below. Her efforts have engaged and enlighted a wide diversity of people and places. While in our Blog, take time to see what others are doing, as well.

30% Donation Match!

October 19 is a special 30% match day for us, thanks to GlobalGiving. Donate early to be sure the pool of matching funds will benefit Green Map System. Magnify the impact of your gift, and provide even more towards healthier, greener, more sustainable communities.

We appreciate all types of donations, including in-kind support. An example is the carbon neutral dedicated server donated by Pair Networks. In October, our server has been upgraded – visit GreenMap.org and see how much faster our website and Open Green Maps now appear on your desktop!

Victor J. Papanek Social Design Award

We are so pleased to be selected as a Winner of the inaugural Victor J. Papanek Social Design Award competition by the new Victor J Papanek Foundation –

Victor Papanek was a true pioneer, thought by many to be the "papa" of the modern eco-design movement. His books, including Design for the Real World, made a deep impression on Green Map’s founder as our movement was forming in the early 1990’s. Wendy Brawer states, "I hold Victor Papanek in high esteem and I am delighted to take part in the award ceremony and the exhibitions at University of Applied Arts Vienna (11/10/11–1/31/12) and in NYC (Dates TBA)".

The Papanek Social Design Award is our second honor in 2011. Special thanks to all the jurors of this competition as well as Treehugger Best of Green, which awarded us Best Eco App for a Smartphone this spring.

Upcoming Events

If you are in NYC and interested in civil society’s response to crisis, our director will be giving a short talk on our work this arena at Design Like You Give a Damn LIVE this Saturday, Oct 22 at the AIA Center for Architecture.

Green Map System is part of the Local Spokes coalition, which is hosting three Visioning Sessions on the opportunities for Lower East Side and Chinatown residents to benefit from bicycling. Find details at LocalSpokes.org.

At a time when people are working together in new ways together to 'Be The Change', we are so glad to join hands with you! Thank you for your help and interest in bringing Green Mapmaking to people worldwide.

Links:

Green Map - Summer 2011 Wrap Up

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:28:46 GMT

Sharing the Green Map story at 140edu

Hello to our Global Giving supporters!

This report brings brief news from our Director, Wendy Brawer:

Over the years, I've delivered many presentations about different aspects of Green Mapmaking. In August, I was invited to speak at 140edu, a conference about the intersection of social media and education produced by the 140 Characters series ('140' refers to Twitter). My talk was 'live-streamed' from the 92Y in New York so I can share it with you - the 12 minute video is linked below. Visit 140edu.com to find all the presentations on this timely topic.

While I could bicycle uptown for 140edu, I'm using donated air miles (and offsetting my carbon) to get to two upcoming talks. I'll go to Amsterdam for two presentations alongside the 'Picnic' (picnicnetwork.org) framing Green Map as part of Urban Futures – find me at Living Labs on September 14^th and the Marketplace on the 16^th. Then it’s off to Austin Texas where I’m speaking at SXSWeco.com, the first eco-themed South by South West conference. I’ll be with local Green Mapmakers in each locale, and plan to bring back inspiring outcomes to share globally. In between Green Map NYC will be taking part in Climate Week and Moving Planet on September 24, then at the first Green Festival in NYC on October 1-2 – already drawing thousands in San Francisco, DC and other cities, we’ll be exhibiting and providing a panel discussion that weekend, as seen at greenfestivals.org.

It’s going to be a busy season as the first of our 5 workshops for Sustainable Jersey Green Teams get underway in our neighboring state – we’ll also be providing specialized consulting to 9 cities working in 4 teams as they create Green Maps that both address the asset mapping action designated by the remarkable Sustainable Jersey organization and the need to engage diverse community members in greener, healthier living. Special thanks to the Geraldine R Dodge Foundation as well as the JM Kaplan Fund, which is supporting our ongoing work with our own home community’s new bicycling coalition, Local Spokes. The summer’s Youth Ambassadors had a great introduction to Lower East Side - Chinatown issues and opportunities, culminating in a party this Saturday (all welcome!). Coming soon - all-ages visioning sessions. You can follow the action and join in at LocalSpokes.org.

New Languages Online

You can now download the poster Green Map Icon Poster in 10 languages, the most recent being Russian, thanks to Kazan Green Mapmakers – download at GreenMap.org/icons. This Center for the Creative Child project just won the "Russian National Junior Water Prize" with their Green Map and they are already planning the greening of the World Summer Universiade Games they will host in 2013! This is highlighted in our blog at GreenMap.org/news alongside several fresh posts by Green Map Curitiba Brazil. Curitiba has been a leader when it comes to green cities for 20 years, and this team has been involved in many initiatives - international conferences, mapping the campus at the Federal University of Parana, producing a wonderful magazine and planning for a high impact year to come - all described in Portuguese. Our 8th language interface for the Open Green Map is nearing completion as well, thanks to Yutaka Nakashima and a team of Japanese volunteers.

I just posted a fresh newsletter (linked below) focusing on our 5 wonderful summer interns. If you are interested in Latin America, Japan and mentoring emerging leaders, you will enjoy it the overview.

Your support makes all this possible!!

Like many Green Mapmakers, we have been enjoying working outdoors in the warm weather, providing walking and cycling tours, researching new sites, meeting with climate change, local food and community resiliency projects all over New York City. We’ve worked hard, preparing to launch a new interactive Energy Map in September, and mentoring teachers from 3^rd grade on up as summer wanes. We’re hopeful about the season to come and wish you all an opportunity to use a Green Map to find great new ways to live more sustainably each day.

On behalf of the 764 Green Map projects worldwide, thank you for supporting our work through Global Giving!

Open Green Map has 200 maps & nearly 18,000 sites

Green Mapmaking in Brazil 2011

Links:

Green Map's Local Focus!

Wendy Brawer — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:32:17 GMT

Local Spokes Coalition

New York City is in bloom – and we’re involved in projects to help it bloom even more. So this quarter, our newsletter highlights Green Map’s involvement in an important new greening initiative in our city as well as in the nearby Sustainable Jersey - Green Map project. We have events coming up to share with you which were made possible in part by the extraordinary efforts of our interns and volunteers, so important to our organization and network!

Local Spokes – a New Neighborhood Coalition
With so many benefits to riding a bicycle, Green Mapmakers worldwide has highlighted cycling resources on their maps. Our own NYC editions have included bicycle lanes, repair shops and advocacy organizations, as seen at OpenGreenMap.org/nyc. In addition, our Green Apple cycling and walking tours* explore the green infrastructure, gardens, solar sites and other resources found in our neighborhoods. Recently, we have become part of the new Lower East Side – Chinatown Bicycling Coalition, known as Local Spokes. Supported by the JM Kaplan Fund, we are working with 8 diverse housing, justice and cycling organizations to engage the community in a new vision for cycling in Lower Manhattan. Follow the project at facebook.com/localspokes. Local Spokes' goal is to create a replicable model for cycling resources that can impact neighborhoods across and far beyond our city.

*On Thursday June 9, take a walking tour with us – this is our first NYC Meetup. Find more details about this event at facebook.com/greenmap.

The Sustainable Jersey - Green Map Project
Last summer we took part in the Jersey City ‘Farm in the City’ workshop. This event not only led to new policies taking root in the city, it also led to our meeting with Sustainable Jersey and a grant from the Geraldine R Dodge Foundation to work with a sampling of diverse New Jersey cities’ Green Teams. These teams address over 100 sustainable actions to gain points toward certification. Citizen engagement is part of the process and teams will be introduced to Green Map’s strategy for engagement through a workshop and webinar in June. Select teams will be offered staff support on mapmaking strategy, communications and outreach towards completion and distribution of a printed or interactive Green Map. More about this project is online at GreenMap.org/snj.

Hats off to our Interns
As the summer approaches we say goodbye to marketing intern Jinhwa Ju (South Korea) and interaction design intern Isadora Dantas (Brazil). You’ll see Jinwha’s photos, taken as she worked with Joseph Panglinan (Rutgers University) on the Green Map Archives, our Gel workshop, social media and more. Everyone contributed to the Festival of New Ideas, including Yutaka Nakashima (Japan), who is now helping us support the efforts of Green Map Japan after this winter’s horrific disasters. Updating the Compost Green Map with the support of the Manhattan Borough President, the Solid Waste Advisory Board and Citizens Committee has been just one of many projects to which the interns have contributed. We are welcoming new interns this summer – Brigid Keating (New York University), Melanie Reed (Cornell University), Alex Purdy (University of Richmond) and Aaron Miller (University of Connecticut) - as we keep up our tradition of mentoring rising stars and getting the job done with fresh energy. Their support is crucial to us!

Please pitch in and support our interns, our work in NYC and with Green Map projects worldwide. Join our events, use Green Maps to connect with local resources and do all you can to promote a healthier future for us all.

Yutaka-Joe-Brigid-Alex-Aaron-Melanie-Wendy-Jinhwa

Green Map in the NY Daily News

Links:

What Your 2010 Green Map Donation Accomplished

Wendy E. Brawer — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:10:45 GMT

Green Map App

Thanks to Global Giving donors, Green Map System had a remarkable 2010! Our highlights starts out with 94 newly registered locally-led Green Map projects, followed by the highlights of our accomplishments shown below. We have many goals for 2011, so we invite you to take action today –please donate to help cities worldwide become more sustainable and healthy today.

Engagement Initiatives

Making it easy to collect sites for Open Green Maps with our Mobile Data Collector for smartphones and iPhones
To share Green Maps, Photos, Blogs in any website, we created embeddable widgets
Created Icon posters, postcards and other adaptable resources in new languages
Inventoried Green Maps and locally created materials for our print and digital Archive
Planning for our new Mapmaker collaboration platform
Training of 14 interns from several countries (this includes our Summer program. Here's a quote from participant Morgan Leykam, who was subsequently hired to create the City's Green Map in Stamford Connecticut, "There is a lot of excitement built around it - most people I've spoken to said they've been waiting for something like this to unite all the green efforts being made").

Key Events

15th Anniversary Celebration, May - Budapest
Smithsonian National Design Triennial – Green Map in exhibition, book, family guide and events, from May to Jan - NYC
US Social Forum, workshop and exchanges, Detroit - June
Green Map Exhibit at Finlandia University, Michigan - September
Art in Odd Places Site Marker Test & party, October - NYC
Participation in the United Nations' COP 10 with exhibition, forum, exchanges, media events with Aichi Green Map, October - Nagoya Japan

Our Local 'beyond the map' Initiatives
As we participate in these projects, we utilize skills and networks developed while producing our own local NYC Green Maps. Each has enhanced our role in the region:

Lower East Side/Chinatown Bicycling Coalition
Jersey City Farm in the City
Parsons The New School of Design Social Innovation Program
E3NYC Cleantech Expo (planning for 2014)
Green Map entrepreneurship development and thesis

New Technology on GreenMap.org

Doubled the number of green sites on the Open Green Map platform in 2010
Mapmakers and Maps Profile pages re-designed and cross-referenced
GreenMap.org/icons now powers search of Open Green Map sites by the icon
Social media integration and resources
Updated our Press center, Impacts and other pages
Added our 7th language, Chinese, to Open Green Map

2010 Awards

Best of Green: Treehugger’s Best Tool for Green Travelers
eServices for Citizens and Corporations, Living Labs Global
Just Means - FT Social Innovation Awards finalist
Selected by DesigNYC for GreenAppleMap.org makeover in 2012
Cape Town Green Map wins Golden Trash Award
Towson University wins Silver from the US University & College Designers Association

Selected Press

Renovating the Rust Belt in Ohio
20 new Green Maps at Shanghai Expo
Reykjavik’s printed Green Map debuts
Washington DC’s online and printed Green Maps debut
Find others at GreenMap.org/media

2011 Could be our Highest Impact Year Yet!

We've got great plans and events underway, but we need your help to reach our goals. Share your love for your community and the Earth with us. Make a Donation or review us at Guidestar. Thank you for your support!

European Green Mapmakers discover green sites

Detroit Green Map planning meeting

Links:

Green Map's Newest Way of Giving Back!

Wendy Brawer — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:34:15 GMT

Green Map's Climate Icon Design 10-10-10 Event-NYC

One of Green Map System's 2010 goals is to explore new ways to support the sustainable community development activities of our organization and network. We have always nurtured a spark of social innovation, but our inclusion of social entrepreneurship allows us to directly address a variety of challenges as our economy changes and our need for sustainable resources grows.

Skills for the New Green Economy

Important skills development – community organizing, critical assessment, sustainability communications, production and marketing – are strengthened through the Green Mapmaking process. All of these skills support new green jobs and ECOnomic development, too. We’re putting these skills to work ourselves to help build local capacity for sustainable living.

Green Map System is developing new ways to apply our years of non-profit and networking experience. GreenMap.org/consulting explores the services we offer to agencies, universities, companies, and educational and youth organizations, both to support local Green Map projects and to consult on other kinds of community-engaged sustainability efforts. Involved in a CSR program? Building 'community capital'? Developing a collaborative community program? We can help you!

Lifting Off

Recognition for this new focus is also coming from academic circles. This month Bala Mulloth received his PhD for his "Diversity in Contemporary Entrepreneurship" research and dissertation which has a strong focus on our work (further described on the blog linked below). Our Director is a nominee for the World Technology Awards in the category of Social Entrepreneurship – awards will be announced on December 1. In a myriad of ways, the link between Green Mapmaking and community entrepreneurs is growing stronger than ever.

Supporting Green Jobs Worldwide

Green Maps have always promoted green jobs throughout the community by highlighting a wide diversity of enterprises, organizations, schools and projects that incorporate sustainability into their missions and activities. Thus, Green Map System truly is a decentralized marketing service for the 'hometown environment', supporting economic development and delivering added value to over 700 cities and towns in 55 countries. This important added value has been underscored by the Open Green Map, which now offers upwards of 15,000 green sites in desktop, mobile, iPhone and widget formats (note that we are presenting the platform at the NYC NetSquared Meetup on December 6 – details are linked below).

Leveraging a Future that Works for All

We are planning a deeper investment in the green economy. In 2011, we will begin researching how Green Mapmakers have turned mapmaking into a viable livelihood, documenting their methodologies and generating a global discussion. Our goals are to develop and highlight exciting, enterprising resources and to mentor new network members.

Today, you can invest in this mutual-support initiative by making a tax-deductible donation to Green Map System online at Global Giving. Contact us anytime (info [at] greenmap [dot] org or +1 212 674 1631) with your ideas and sponsorship offers. Our success in making this much-needed shift will leverage local green economies in hometowns near and far.

Join us in responding to a diversity of needs with a real hand up! Thank you from everyone at Green Map System, and our best wishes for a wonderful holiday season 2010!

Newest Green Map Book by Aichi Green Map, Japan

Mapmakers with one of 41 new Green Maps, Aichi JP

Links:

700 Green Map Projects - a New Milestone!

Wendy Brawer — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:56:47 GMT

Summer Interns, Staff and Mapmakers take a break!

We have reached a new milestone: Over 700 Green Map projects have registered at GreenMap.org/join! We are excited about being part of the green scene in communities from Jersey City NJ to Lake Tisza Hungary to Stellenbosch South Africa!

Each project uses our tools and models in their own way. Our job at Green Map System is to anticipate needs, respond to assessments and continually improve our websites and other mapmaking resources. Our new navigation feature - drop menus - is one outward manifestation of our summer’s work in the digital realm. As you explore Open Green Map’s 13,000 sites, you’ll notice that the interface is now available in a seventh language, Chinese. Explore some of the platform's 140 maps and you’ll find many have hundreds of sites!

Knowledge of local resources is critical to each individual and community, and maintaining the Open Green Map platform and expanding its reach are ongoing efforts. Your donations to us through Global Giving make all the difference. Your site suggestions and other contributions to these interactive Green Maps are greatly valued as well!

Linked below, find a fresh article about the Open Green Map and Drupal, the open source technology behind our acclaimed platform by Thomas Turnbull, our former Lead Developer and current Board Member. Continually advising us and pitching in, Tom helped make mobile access to the platform's data possible from any mobile phone – click GreenMap.org to find 'what's green nearby'! You can also get the free Green Map iPhone App (we are seeking a sponsor for version 2 - contact us for details).

Images include scenes from our Summer Virtual Internship Final Exchange - special thanks to visiting Green Mapmakers from San Francisco and Austin, who helped critique the Green Maps completed by students from 6 universities. We'd also like to thank Gottfried Haider, our volunteer from Austria who contributed much 'outside the box' thinking to our work this season, as well as great photos! Having Max Goldstein from Stockholm and Tushar Gogis, social entrepreneur, involved in our planning meetings were also much appreciated.

Chance Encounters with Green Sites

What happens when people on the street don’t have a Green Map or access to our mobile website? Visually compelling Markers posted on green sites will help everyone make the connection to local environment and green living resources.

We’ll be conducting our first test of Green Map Site Markers in NYC as part of the Art in Odd Places festival. Watch for them on 14th Street in Manhattan from Oct 1-10. We’ll be collecting feedback from event-goers and people who just happen to be on the street. You can take part during that time by clicking GreenMap.org/aiop.

And on the final day of the festival (10/10/10), please join us for our own contribution to 350.org's Global Work Party. We’re holding an Icon Design Studio, open to the entire community. Help us create new symbols to highlight climate impacts and local adaptations that will become part of the lexicon used by Green Map projects worldwide.

Join this open Green Map Icon design event on Sunday October 10 from 1 to 4 pm at the 14th Street Y, located at 344 East 14th near 1st Ave. Share your ideas about symbols that could be added to our current set (download at GreenMap.org/icons) that makes every Green Map exciting and easy to use.Thanks to the 14th Street Y, Art in Odd Places, refreshment donors Angelica Kitchen and all the designers and the sites where our test Markers will appear.

Following the festival, more Green Map Icon design sessions will be announced in this newsletter, in our tweets (follow us at @GreenMap), on our Facebook (facebook.com/greenmap) page, etc.

More Places to See Green Maps

Michigan’s Finlandia University is hosting “Green Maps of the World: Charting a Sustainable Future” exhibit from September 20 – October 16. This exhibit will showcase the local Keneenaw Peninsula Green Map and nearly 100 other editions created around the world. Green Map's Director Wendy Brawer will be on hand for both the exhibit opening and to meet with students and the university's sustainability program.

Around the same time, a unique series of wetlands Green Maps will be on view at the 2010 EXPO in Shanghai. As seen in this article, these maps were created by 30 university teams working with WWF China! Find out more about our work in China by perusing the progress report connected to our other Global Giving project, linked below.

Many thanks to all involved in supporting our work this season. We look forward to hearing from you!

Virtual Intern Final Exchange, August 2010

Green Map site markers at Art in Odd Places

Links:

Green Map Inspires and Trains the Next Generation!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:07:20 GMT

Bristol UK's Steve Parry training adult learners

As a supporter of Green Map System, you may not have realized you are also helping to support a wonderful internship program that bolsters leadership for a sustainable future.

At our New York office, we welcome students from all corners of the world to volunteer with us. Each receives training related to their own field of study. International policy, planning, food and nutrition, design and education are in the current ‘class’ of interns. As you can see in our blog at GreenMap.org/news, between 15 and 20 interns undertake a variety of tasks as they are exposed to sustainability in action! Whether it’s creating new mapmaking resources or assessing the impacts of Green Map projects in over 670 communities, each gains important communications, technology, organizing and management skills that make a positive contribution to their community and profession. As shown below, visitors like Philip Todres from Cape Town South Africa's Green Map project often visit and share directly with interns and our staff to benefit ongoing development.

We have also begun our summer ‘semi-virtual internship’ program for 2010. This special program helps us assist a larger group of student Green Mapmakers. Starting with a two-day training, each student works independently on a theme, campus or neighborhood Green Map. As seen at at the link below, each participant blogs weekly about their progress, and meets with our program coordinator, Celine Teo Ying Zhen, as needed. There’s a midpoint meet-up in July and in August, an exchange of completed Green Maps and lessons learned by this cohort of students from six universities. We’ll also invite the 2009 participants who have continued to develop their Green Maps all year! You are welcome to the exchange – watch the blog for details.

2009 was the first time we held the ‘semi-virtual internship’ and we have improved the process for 2010. We appreciate having the support of Con Edison for this New York-based project, but hope that you will contribute generously as we aim to share the process and outcomes more broadly, creating resources that will help Green Map projects around the world, hosting their own versions of this program. Of course, we'll incorporate the outcomes of related programs, such as the 4BsHive, a network of European Green Mapmakers who are involving a diverse group of adult learners in a European Union-funded exchange mapping program (shown in the attached photo in Budapest's technology lab).

Our ongoing in-house interns as well as those who take part in summer programs and trainings give so much to the global Green Map program. Your donation is a big THANK YOU to their thoughtful efforts to make the world a better place for all of us.

Help us extend a hand to far more youth, life-long learners and other dedicated Green Mapmakers who love their home places!

As our thanks to you – we invite you to visit GreenMap.org/widgets (linked below) and find out how to add our great content to your website or blog. It's easy and you'll be showcasing Green Maps, green sites, photos and more that help spread the word about the global Green Map program!

Our best wishes for a green and healthy summer!

Semi-Virtual Green Map Interns 2010

Visiting Green Mapmakers share outcomes

Links:

Take Green Map With You!

Wendy Brawer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:38:32 GMT

The award-winning Green Map movement has joined the mobile revolution! Two great resources for green living debuted in February - a mobile website designed for all internet-enabled cellphones and the Green Map iPhone App!

Ideal for locals and tourists alike, both feature "What's Green Nearby?™" a handy tool for connecting with green resources on the go. The iPhone App includes 10 additional sections, delivering an insightful view into this global movement through its engaging Green Maps, videos, photos, blog, and more. In keeping with Green Map System's mission of inclusive participation in sustainable communities, this dual launch is designed to serve a broad diversity of mobile phone users at no cost.

Access the mobile website: Simply type GreenMap.org into any phone's browser. An array of green living resources pops up, arranged by those nearest to your location. Click any site for details, and then, click the address to plot the site on your phone's built-in map. Or, type in a city you plan to visit. Navigate with your phone's buttons and connect with nature, culture and sustainability sites directly. Today on the beta version, you can explore 9000 sites. In the future, you will be able to interact and contribute your own viewpoints, images and more.

Get the Green Map iPhone App: Search for Green Map in the Apple Store or click GreenMap.org/app. Version 1.0 delivers a view of this dynamic locally-led global sustainability movement unlike any you have ever seen before.

"Richly illustrated with expressive, locally-designed Green Maps, background on the Green Map movement and its impacts, media reports and news all come into view so users can directly explore the remarkable people, places and outcomes of the Green Map movement", noted Wendy Brawer, Founding Director. "Our design team utilized AppMakr to develop the iPhone app in less than a month, and members of our Board pitched in to create the mobile website. With the help of sponsoring companies, foundations and individual donors, we'll be building richer versions and continually improving exploration and interaction, contributing much to community well-being and the future we all share."

We invited our Global Giving supporters to be among the first to use these new tools and we welcome your feedback.

During the App's first week, it was downloaded in 21 countries, an indication of global interest in green living. Articles appeared in Treehugger, the Daily Green, Download Squad, 3R Living, and other places. A new feature was added - the ability to explore the sites by the Green Map Icon! Click Take Green Map With You at http://GreenMap.org for updates and more about our first mobile tools.

At Green Map System, we've started planning yet another way for people to discover the green sites with an on site marker system that requires no technology, not even a map! Watch for news on this and other resources for youth, community and civic Green Mapmaking – and our sincere thanks for all you do to help us support dynamic locally-led Green Map projects worldwide.

Links:

Blog about our Mobile Resources

Attachments:

Green Map (DOC)

Foresight and our Common Future

Wendy Brawer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:05:07 GMT

Green Map's CO2 reduction exhibit, delivered to COP15 by bike

It's been quite an exciting season at Green Map System!

We were very pleased with the generous response you made towards our participation in the Give More – Get More Campaign. A total of $7,390 was raised, including Global Giving's match and bonuses from our Board. Early in the new year, we will draw prizes, as promised, and contact the winners. Your support is very important to over 625 communities worldwide with registered Green Map projects, and helps us build a sustainable future together.

December was especially meaningful to me, as Green Map's director. I went to Copenhagen for the United Nations climate conference COP 15! I've created a series of blog posts, starting at GreenMap.org/cop15 about events there with Green Mapmakers from Denmark, Sweden, Indonesia and Taiwan. It was a great opportunity to develop movement-wide plans for the decade ahead and meet people who will initiate new Green Map projects and partnerships.

Today, people everywhere are seeking meaningful ways to address climate change, overcome a lack of government vision and restore hope for a healthier and greener future. With your donation to Green Map System, we can offer millions of people a new opportunity to create a sustainable future, starting right in their own hometown.

We have offered this opportunity for nearly 15 years – what makes it different now?

First of all, 2009 was a remarkably effective year for us. One key indicator: the number of newly registered projects surged 35% - now another 119 communities, from Sao Paulo Brazil to Edinburgh UK to Dalian China to Oakland California - have Green Maps in progress!

Our technology took a giant step forward in 2009. Through the launch of our Open Green Map platform, we have made it so much easier to publish, share and explore Green Maps. Each of the 7,300 sites mapped to date is ready for your viewpoints, assessments and images. Now, the Open Green Map is even available on your mobile phone! We'll be announcing this breakthrough in January but you can give it a whirl today by clicking GreenMap.org on any internet-enabled phone.

We want to help you make the world a better place, too!

If you are working with teens, we have free modules and mapping strategies that will help them plug in to climate-healthy energy uses and empower them as citizens and leaders.
If you are seeking model best practices, the Open Green Map offers a quick no-cost way to compare how diverse green sites are making change happen – click open the 'info-window' on any site, then 'connections' and 'related sites' for nearby and worldwide insights.
Seeking ways to spur community engagement with remarkably beneficial outcomes? Download our 2009 book at GreenMap.org/impacts, and explore articles by media worldwide. Of course, GreenMap.org has downloadable Green Maps provided by local project leaders, our global Blog and Store.
If you are ready to join our network of city agencies, NGOs and grassroots groups, schools and social entrepreneurs who are using Green Mapmaking to create a powerful vision of change in your community, click Participate and lead the way.

Our world is a beautiful place. Join us in telling its story from your place in the world, and help everyone see it that way!

Best wishes for a sustainable start to the New Year and new decade from everyone at Green Map System!

Links:

Attachments:

citylist.pdf (PDF)

Fresh Blogs, Tangible Outcomes!

Wendy E Brawer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:19:55 GMT

Click News or the Blog links below for the latest updates

All Green Map project leaders are invited to blog at GreenMap.org/news, where you can quickly enjoy some of the latest activities and impacts of local Green Map projects. Here are some highlights from our Blog's front page today:

Copenhagen: Green Map System and Green Mapmakers are presenting our practical, community building approaches at several events and meetings during COP15, the UN climate conference.

Indonesia: 3 prestigious national media awards recognized creators of Green Map stories!

Craik Canada: This rural Green Map project has added 1500 images to the online resources it already offers. Now building an eco centre using natural materials, the Craik Sustainable Living Project is planning to make a new Green Map in 2010.

Tianjin China: The "Love Without Borders" group provides delightful images of the 25 people who experienced their October Green Map workshop. Scroll further down for a translated Blog.

Iceland: Green Map Iceland held an exhibition celebrating the 3,171 sites they have charted using both Green Map Icons and ‘home grown’ Icelandic icons signifying volcanoes, whale-watching areas, light-houses and turf-houses.

Kauai Hawaii: Enjoy Current TV video clips about the Kauai Green Map and how it supports local green businesses created by Malama Kaua'i, a Kilauea based non-profit.

New York City: Recent interactions with local universities and student interns' reflections on their experience at the global Green Map office.

Budapest Hungary: A terrific new digital Budapest Green Map was launched at a press conference and resulted in exciting media coverage for the Hungarian Association of Conscious Consumers on World Heritage Day.

Detroit USA: Announcing plans to restart their project, Green Map Detroit invited all interested partners to meet and discuss at the Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit event.

Cape Town South Africa: As the city gears up to host the FIFA World Cup Games in 2010, the City of Cape Town is moving quickly on printed and Open Green Maps.

Click the 'More' link at the bottom of each page of the Blog - the stories continue. This is an inspiring testament to the diversity and impacts Green Map System has supported worldwide!

We hope you are inspired to support our work and all these green communities worldwide. Your donations are worth 50% more to Green Map in November, thanks to Global Giving and our board of directors. Special thanks to all who help us meet this Challenge. We all win when we work together to make the world a better place!

Visit GreenMap.org/news anytime for fresh Blog posts and inspiration, thanks to the dedication and insights of Green Mapmakers around the world.

Attachments:

Backgrounder on our latest work (PDF)

Green Maps and Reducing Climate Impacts

Wendy E Brawer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:55:12 GMT

Around the world, people of all backgrounds are stepping up their 'habit change' to reduce the speed of climate change. What does this mean to Green Map System and our global network?

Last week Green Map System participated in Climate Week NYC as the United Nations convened on this critical issue in our hometown, New York City. As part of the exhibit "How Climate Risks Might Change the Map of New York" we were able to share our energy-themed Powerful Green Map of New York City with many other New Yorkers (read more about the exhibit in the New York Times http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/climate-change-is-on-the-map-and-in-the-spotlight/).

We're also preparing to take part in COP 15 climate events in Copenhagen in December along with local Green Mapmakers as our work helps so many communities and individuals change habits and save energy, reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. Merging awareness, education and local resources, each Green Map leverages human power, a most valuable form of renewable energy!

Green Map System is reaching and motivating more cities and regions than ever – today, there are 600 locally-led Green Map projects in 55 countries. The interactive Open Green Map is also growing daily, with 6,000 sites charted since its launch on June 5, 2009. A great example of a climate-themed Green Map is the Swedish city of Malmo's Climate Open Green Map (OpenGreenMap.org/node/6303) featuring green buildings and advanced energy generation. Explore all the Open Green Maps for a plethora of green sites you can compare, share and learn from today! Enhance each map with your own site suggestions, viewpoints, images and impact assessments.

At GreenMap.org/csr, find out how Company Green Map projects have helped increase efficiencies, improve workplace practices and strengthened community relationships. Green Map System also takes action to reduce climate change from our wind-powered office and by working on our carbon-neutral server. We also have a worm bin composter, recycling bins, water filter, and are careful about our use of energy, materials, and resources. Most of us bike to work or walk to work, some commuting up to 10 miles!

By getting involved and supporting Green Maps now you will help reduce climate impacts and promote greener healthier communities worldwide.

Links:

Open Green Map

Attachments:

Updated List of Green Map Projects Around the World (PDF)

Open Green Map is Launched!

Wendy E Brawer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:00:44 GMT

We had an amazing launch - 13 events in 10 countries on World Environment Day! Download our illustrated report and then explore the first 55 Open Green Maps and 4700 sites!

Now we are developing the mobile applications, sharing, youth and low cost resources to go with it. See the first of these on the website under Share and Promote!

This is a great time to get involved with Green Map System!

Attachments:

Open Green Map 'Launch Around the Clock' report (PDF)

Progress in Winter 2009

Wendy E Brawer — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:55:37 GMT

Each day brings new partnerships and progress to Green Map System!

Our social mapping platform-in-progress was most recently presented at at the Ashoka Changemakers - We Media Pitch It event at the end of February, where it was honored as a finalist. It's gained great press as you can see by clicking Testimonials on the home page. You'll also see that there are now more than 40 interactive Open Green Maps from a dozen countries, ready for the public to add their own insights, images and impacts! All users are invited to explore the maps, compare the sites, engage with them in person, then help assess and expand their profile online. Click In Progress on the upper menu to see a short video and upcoming plans.

This website is also drawing new leadership to become Green Mapmakers, too. We recently experienced a record-breaking day with the most new projects in a 24 hour period – 5 joined from three countries! Each can immediately access all our tools and adapt them to suit local needs and issues.

Our new youth modules are being downloaded more frequently too - check them out at GreenMap.org/youth and get the students you know involved, too! These Energy & Environment Exploration modules were piloted in NYC, where our office is based. For a video, click http://GreenAppleMap.org/page/modules Want to hear more from the Green Map global network? Add your email address to the Newsletter box on our homepage and 6-7 times a year, you'll get the inside story on Green Map System's effectiveness in communicating sustainability across the USA and in 53 countries.

Click Contact on the bottom menu of GreenMap.org and OpenGreenMap.org to send us your thoughts and advice - we'd love to hear from you!

News from our Project! Updated 11-08

Wendy Brawer — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:30:47 GMT

Think Global, Map Local!

It's been a tremendous season of activity, thanks to your support! We are making great strides and continuously discovering the limitless potential of the Open Green Map (OGM). Please preview our work in progress at OpenGreenMap.org, and explore the first 2000 sites and 30+ maps that have already been posted. There's lots more features to come before we celebrate the public launch in Spring 2009.

In the summer, we opened OGM to all Green Mapmakers around the world, so their maps could set a high standard for the thousands and thousands of sites we expect to follow. Already OGM is showcasing a vast array of sites, paths and resources charted by our network worldwide, soon to be enhanced by a great diversity of insights, images and impacts that have been added by the public. New features will be added throughout 2009 as OGM further expands its user base and magnifies its impact. Using widgets, each map will be accessible from many different websites and blogs. Users will be able to filter their view and discuss, share images and personal impacts related to each green site. In the coming months, OGM will support mobile phones access and data sharing, connecting with calendars, newsfeeds and potentially even offline exhibits or textbooks. OGM has already been a Finalist in the NetSquared Challenge and in Tele Atlas' Maps in Apps competition, appeared in numerous articles and blogs, and presented in several countries and conferences.

Demand for this remarkable new tool is constantly increasing - and at the same time, OGM is building the demand for our traditional mapmaking resources. Our network is expanding faster than ever! In October 2008, we reached the 500 project milestone, and we welcomed new project leaders from our 54th country!

In preparation for the significantly expanded audience generated by OGM, in May 2007, we re-launched GreenMap.org as a multilingual presentation-collaboration-tool center. This past spring, we completed an expansion of our award-winning global iconography, so OGM’s symbol set reflects our updated understandings of social justice, economic integrity and environmental vitality. This past summer, our in-house OGM team of staff and interns at Green Map System expanded to 12, and our network of OGM advisors and supporters grows weekly. Our motto is “Never underestimate the power of a small donation.” Your small ($10 and up) contributions helped OGM rank in the Top Ten of America’s Giving Challenge – thank you Global Givers! We are very happy to receive your assistance through this website. Or contact us directly if you wish to hep us in other ways.

Thank you again for your continued assistance and encouragement. We hope you are as excited as we are to realize the brighter future of communities worldwide, thanks to the Open Green Map, our suite of adaptable resources, and the spirit of Green Mapmakers everywhere!

Links:

Attachments: