We are excited to highlight the newest published Green Map projects from different parts of the world. From the uniquely designed local Green Maps to interactive mapmaking experiences using the recently launched Open Green Map, each project has an amazing impact on the people who created as well as the community they have charted.

In addition to the first 60 or so Open Green Maps celebrated at our launch celebration on June 5th, recently published printed Green Maps chart a university campus in China, a youth initiative in Brazil, a cultural heritage site in Indonesia, a highland community in Canada, and a new cycling-oriented Green Map of Beijing's Shichahhai district. Many others are in progress! read more »

Green Map System has initiated a Summer 2009 Semi-Virtual Student Internship Program involving high school and university students. The program includes training in the Green Map office, mentoring and interaction with Andrew Fenster, our Education Trainee, concluding with a presentation/exchange in mid-August. Follow the action at youthgreenmapping.blogspot.com/.

The goal of the program is for students to create themed Green Maps of their home neighborhoods, with a specific focus of their choice, such as green businesses, climate change, potential open spaces for green development, spiritual centers, etc. read more »

Why Making Maps Guides Us to Be Greener: http://bit.ly/ke1Me

The Cape Town Green Map - www.capetowngreenmap.co.za isn’t just a bunch of intersecting lines and street names. Rather it is the heart of the city, a green life-force, which sends out information via the numerous vessels and networks of the internet.

As with all maps, it provides direction – but with a difference.

No other map has attempted to chart and detail the city of Cape Town from a green angle before. The map can be used to make greener lifestyle choices, and help people to make more informed decisions on how to live sustainably. It is also different because it is on-going, evolving and constantly being updated.read more »

Green Maps highlight local natural, cultural and green living sites to promote personal and community well-being. Transforming local information into global interaction, the new Open Green Map social mapping platform spurs healthy participation as it shares diverse public viewpoints. Preview our platform in progress here!

Updated: view the Launch Report here!

Open Green Map's global launch celebration will take place on Friday, June 5 - World Environment Day! On the same day, special events are being planned all over the world: Cape Town, Geneva, Jakarta, Stockholm, Baltimore, Pereira Colombia, the UK towns of Swansea, Clackmannanshire, Neath Port Talbot and other places!read more »

From Green TV-Seeking developing country journalists
The CCMP 2009 fellowships will run over a nine month period starting this July. Fellows will build and strengthen their skills in climate change reporting by drawing on a range of training resources provided by the CCMP, including expert editorial mentoring by senior environment editors, networking with other environmental journalists from around the world, a matchmaking service with hundreds of key climate experts and the opportunity to attend and report on the critical international climate negotiations in Copenhagen.
Women journalists are particularly encouraged to apply. Journalists may apply for only one of the two types of fellowship. If you know appropriate journalists, please let them know this program. read more »

We're very pleased to announce that the Open Green Map is a Finalist for the Index Award, the prestigious European design prize!

Our entry is in the Community category. Click this link to see our entry online and to find out about the traveling exhibit that our social mapping platform will be featured in, starting in Copenhagen in August!

Although the Open Green Map social mapping platform did not win, in February 2009, our 'pitch' to the We Media & Ashoka Changemakers jurors led to some great exchanges and connections!

Tele Atlas is the provider of the base maps that appear on Google Maps. Their Fall 2008 competition for wireless devices was exciting for us because we were able to demonstrate our Open Green Map platform at the CTIA Wireless convention, and met hundreds of people interested in our unique social purpose application. We also won $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in TeleAtlas data, both a boon to platform development!

Spring 2008 - even before the Open Green Map was open for 'business', this social mapping platform was selected by TechSoup's prestigious NetSquared Mashup Challenge! Recently, we added a blog post about the many rewards of participating in an open competition like this. What a valuable experience!

In January 2008, Green Map System gained many new supporters in this online giving contest. In additional to the funds sent in, we received an extra Top Ten check from Global Giving! These funds seeded the development of the Open Green Map sustainability mapping platform. Our entry is still online, you can join over 370 people in supporting our work.

Baltimore has a consortium of campuses involved in various collaborative efforts under the Baltimore Collegetown Network. Most local campuses have Sustainability Commissions these days, so we have launched the Baltimore Collegetown Green Map Challenge with a fabulous pilot project at Towson University. Print maps were the focus. The students are eloquent in speaking of the benefits they realized from doing this project in their Graphic Design Studio. Their professor, Jessica Ring, was a wonderful collaborator.read more »

As an experiment, we created the Baltimore Green Week 2009 map on the OGM. It used icons to describe the topic content of events rather than to describe places, then illustrated the geographic distribution of those events. The organization Baltimore Green Works used it on their website along with a traditional Calendar of Events. Seemed successful and now is a record to refer to when planning next year's events. And we'll be able to offer it with tour routes for 2010.
http://www.opengreenmap.org/en/greenmap/baltimore-green-week-2009

(or winter if you are southern hemisphere....)
Is anyone planning any youth mapping projects this summer and interested in doing an info exchange with some Baltimore 8-14 year-olds?
I think it would be cool to exchange experiences and images with young folks from an entirely different environment as we do a neighborhood mapping project here.
Thanks.
Janet
Baltimore, Maryland, USA

各位夥伴：
　大家好，本校綠活圖團隊，經過近半年的努力，在每位夥伴分工合作下，我們已於去年底完成屬於我們在地綠活圖的製作並完成出版，我們的主題是「田頭田尾八塊厝，燕尾串起八德情」。
　我們將陸續發表我們的成果及心得，請各位夥伴拭目以待，謝謝。
　
　
　

The website - www.capetowngreenmap.co.za goes live in beta version on 30 March. The team is happy with its progress, although there are still a few things to iron out before the official launch of the site, such as the slide show, which remains static but will function as a dynamic slide show featuring pictures from the map and Cape Town.

In the meantime there is synergy between Cape Town's green map and the official launch of the Open Green Map system. Both are set to launch on 5 June 2009, World Environment Day!

The Cape Town Green map team begin actively sourcing and approaching partners and sponsors, who are overwhelmingly positive about the map, particularly as there is a focus on South Africa for 2010. This despite the current downward trend of the economy. It appears that whilst business is feeling the squeeze, the effort to green (or blue) our planet is still a priority.read more »