As Green Map’s Director, I am occasionally invited to project launches and opportunities to present Green Map to different audiences. This spring, there have been many!

Starting in mid April, I traveled to Bucharest Romania, where Goodartofnoon Cultural Association’s dynamic young team published their first Green Map following a year of intensive development. With 100,000 copies and a great distribution plan (thousands will arrive with the national newspaper, which committed to a green column each week for a year; within the Romanian edition of National Geographic along with an 8-page article; and though the city-wide Museum Night), there’s much excitement about expansion and inclusion. I helped develop their schools Green Map project and the team’s outreach effort. read more »

Learn Green NYC is a new coalition of sustainability professionals in education, design and enterprise in support of youth engagement, healthy learning environments and community-based approaches to low impact, high quality living. Green Map's Director has been part of the coalition since the very beginning!

Last week, Learn Green NYC hosted an invitational event for NYC youth and concerned adults at Teacher's College Columbia University, as part of the Schools, Food and Community conference sponsored by the Baum Forum.

This Youth Forum was the first of a series of Learn Green NYC programs to engage youth as community sustainability leaders throughout the city.read more »

"Green Map Impacts" focuses on various kinds of case studies which gave "Actual impacts" or "Influences" on communities by making Green Maps. These unique case studies were picked up from Japan and the world.
We hope that it is one of the most useful tool in your Green Map activities.

Book Title: "Green Map Impacts--Green Map changes the community!"
Format: A4 size, 40 p. full colored
Language: Japanese (It will be translated into English)
Publisher: Chubu Recycle, Inc.
Planning & Editing: Green Map Aichi + Green Map Japan, Inc.
Cooperation: Green Map System, Inc.
Audience:
Existing map makers, city planners, community leaders, or people who want to work for the community....read more »

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Baltimore Green Map introductory website at www.baltogreenmap.org. We are using 48 of the V3 icons and presenting all an opportunity to Nominate a Site. An interview with Wendy Brawer and me (Baltimore Project Director) will be aired on our local public radio station in time to be part of the Baltimore Festival of Maps. We'll post that as soon as available. Thanks to Wendy for years of encouragement and to our hero Thomas for responding so quickly to suggestions as we deployed the beta Online Green Map as part of our site.
Janet

Ode is a print and online publication about positive news, about the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better.

Diane Daniel on the April 2008 issue of Ode Magazine features our Green Map movement. "If you’re searching for a green oasis in urban Jakarta, Indonesia, or a place to compost your banana peel in lower Manhattan, a Green Map can show you the way."

The magazine is on the newsstands now or click here to read the online version.

A one of its kind environmental conference (18-19 May 2008) is taking place in Jerusalem initiated by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, and supported by the Jerusalem Municipality, The Ministry of Environmental Protection and a variety of other bodies.

The two day event will bring together national and international speakers to discuss a range of pressing environmental issues, and examine Israel's current environmental situation.

The Jerusalem Green Map will be well represented at the conference with computer work stations to enable visitors to search the website (Hebrew and English), unique tours "in the footsteps of the Jerusalem Green Map", Green Map Systems material on offer and more!read more »

More than 2000 Houston Greenmaps were handed out at the Gulf Coast Green and Houston green Expo between April 3rd and April 6th!

March 25th is a great time for us to reflect on the many things we have accomplished together as Green Mapmakers, for our communities and our planet. We all share our perceptions of what is happening right now and help everyone get involved in shaping a more hopeful and greener future for all.

Special thanks to all our supporters and the hundreds of people who make Green Map a vital resource for vibrant communities!

Over the last few months, Green Map System has been taking part in competitions that address non-profit needs in a new way. They have incorporated social networking so that every participant has the chance to benefit, even if they don't win the top prize. Here's what I like about it:

Unlike a regular grant proposal, our proposals are not expressed privately to a foundation. Plans are shared openly, so the potential to reach new supporters and participants is greater.

In many cases, people can comment on your entry and help to improve it! Try it out - you can comment on our Ashoka Changemakers Geotourism Challenge entry until 16 April. Your comments will help the judges choose our project as a finalist. read more »

３月１３日（木）
　公民館に自分たちの総合学習で行ったマップ作りの説明と掲示していただくお礼を伝えるため、公民館にあいさつにでかけました。公民館長さんから、取り組みへのお褒めの言葉と激励の言葉をいただき、緊張している子もたくさんいました。また、地元の情報誌（瀬戸内タイムズ）の取材もあり、近日中に発行される情報誌に掲載されることになりました。
　地図やみんなが描いた絵などは、これから公民館のもっとみんなに見てもらえるところに掲示されることになります。クラス代表の芳岡さんのあいさつ後、記念品もいただきました。read more »

３月１２日（水）
　公民館に掲示していただくものを持って記念撮影を行いました。教室の黒板がうまってしまうほどの大きさになりました。描いた絵が写真にとられ、小さくなってしまったのが残念そうでしたが、調べたことや考えたことが形になり、感動していました。”自分たちはやったんだ！”という達成感でいっぱいの笑顔でした。

Houston Green Map is getting ready to Launch! Save the Date - Friday, March 28th, 2008!
Stay tuned for more updates.
Meanwhile, feel free to add comments to this blog, with the hope that it becomes an interactive tool as we will move towards the 2nd Edition.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this initial and very important step.

Filo Castore

Green Map System has promoted inclusive participation in sustainable community development around the world since 1995, using mapmaking as our medium. Over 450 locally-led map projects in 50 countries have successfully published 335 Green Maps, used by millions to connect with green living, nature, social and cultural resources near home and while traveling. While all use Green Map Icons to highlight both positive and challenging sites, each powerful guide is unique.

Now, we're taking our inclusiveness mission the next step by developing an open interactive Green Mapmaking tool that will help people worldwide quickly share their own selection of sustainability sites, pathways and resources online. Merging local knowledge and our freshly updated iconography with a Google Map, the resulting interactive Green Maps will be viewable from our own and many other websites, starting in mid-2008. With open commentary, green ratings, multimedia elements, 'impacts index', mobile access, onsite markers and more, everyone will be able to get involved. read more »

Titan Greens, an online show hosted by Liza de Guia, is a resource to inform and entertain on environmentalism issues. In the second piece of this 2-minute video, GreenMap.org is profiled as one of the coolest website for eco-minded people.read more »

２月２０日（水）
学校内に地図を掲示することになりました。子どもたちが思いを伝える第一歩となります。ただ、まだ学習は継続中なので、すべてを掲示することができないことと、思いがたくさんあって全てを掲示するだけのスペースがないのが残念です。
島田の問題点と解決策をもとにポスター作りを行いました。解決策の中にエネルギーの使用を減らすというものがありました。不思議なことにガスを使わないようにするというものがありました。read more »

２月１９日
「校区を調査して、ここは環境がよくないと思ったところはありますか？」という私の問いかけに、子どもたちは「ある！」とどんどん意見をあげてました。しかし、「それでは、どうしたらそこの環境はよくなるのかな？」という問いかけには、なかなかはぎれのいい意見がでません。クラス全体ではなく、班単位で話し合ってもらいました。するとかなりの意見が出ています。リーダーに発表してもらいながら、よくない環境の解決策のところを２色に色分けしながら板書していきました。なぜ、先生は２つに色分けしているんだろう？？？このことに早く気がついた子どもは、自分の考えた解決策にさっそく線を引き始めました。自分たちでできること、大人の協力が必要なこと、この２つに大きく分けてたのです。気がつかなかった子も班の子がread more »

See English below Japanese.

『東京自転車グリーンマップ』が、環境省主催の「ストップ温暖化大作戦」全国大会にて「モーダルシフト賞」を受賞しました！！

全国大会では、全国47都道府県から選ばれた温暖化防止の取り組み（一品）が東京に大集合しました。『東京自転車グリーンマップ』を除くその他のグランプリ受賞プロジェクトは、全て市町村やそれに関連した組織が主導するもので、『東京自転車グリーンマップ』はその中で唯一のNPO主導によるプロジェクトでした。read more »

We're very pleased to post the first chart of the freshly updated Green Map Icons! It's been a wonderful process, thanks to all involved, especially our great designer Risa Ishikawa and the many Green Mapmakers around the world who took part.

Green Mapmakers will soon be able to download the font to use locally to make vibrant new editions that carry forward the ideals behind this living lexicon - and share new perceptions of the community's progress toward sustainability with the world.

We'll be adding more about the people, supporters, tools, and some specific outcomes of this update soon. Now please download PDF and enjoy Green Map Icons, Version 3!read more »

２月４日（月）
　先日の”島田のいいところ”の話し合いでは、文を書いたり聞き取ったことをメモする学習になってしまいました。こんなにいいところなんだよというものがお互い伝わってきません。少し発想を変えて違う角度からとりかかるヒントをもちかけることにしました。
　話し合いが始まる前に黒板に私が作ったＰＲチラシをはってみました。「おもしろいね。先生これ何？」と子どもたちが中身を見ています。「みんなは島田のいいところや知ってほしいことをいろいろな人に見てもらいたいでしょう。じゃあ誰が見てもわかりやすくて楽しいものを作ってみようか？」read more »

１１月３０日（水）
　地図へのアイコン貼り付けが終わりました。”まとめる・つたえる”という総合学習の一つのスキルに入っています。話し合いの前に”島田のここはいいな”と思ったことを自分で書き出してみようと声をかけました。一人ひとりの意見を書き出したら、それを班全員で考えます。書き出したわけを班の人に説明し、班の人の意見も聞き、班としてまとめていく活動予定でした。しかし、気になることが出てきました。
「いいなと思ったのは、島田川の河原です。read more »