June 02, 2009
Learn about GPS & GIS from Portland North Land Trust
On National Trails Day, Saturday, June 6 experts from the Center for Community GIS will help train community members both outdoors on trails and indoors on computers in Global Position System and Geographic Information Software.
GPS units and computers with GIS will be provided, but the public is encouraged to bring their hand held GPS units as well. Participants will have the opportunity to collect data and enter it in the field while hiking along recreational trails. In the second part of the workshop, that data will be entered into computers so that participants will be able to see the actual maps they created with the information collected trail-side.
Portland North Land Trust Collaborative will sponsor trainings open to the public at three separate locations:
Falmouth: 10 am-noon Whipple House and Lunt School Trails, hosted by Falmouth Land Trust
Cumberland: 10 am-noon Twin Brooks Recreation Area, Tuttle Road entrance, hosted by the Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust
Long Island: 1-4 pmLearning Center and Wreck Cove, hosted by Oceanside Conservation Trust
Participants of all ages and residents from towns other than those hosting workshops are welcome. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, please call 699-2989 or email portlandnorth@gmail.com.
Working with the Center for Community GIS since the summer of 2008, the Collaborative is mapping the more than 1500 acres of conserved land overseen by the three member trusts. Their goal is to create a comprehensive database to support effective and regional land use stewardship and planning. By training local community members to use GPS and GIS technology on June 6, they hope to enlist the help of community members for their mapping project while simultaneously increasing community awareness.
National Trails Day is a nation-wide annual event coordinated by the American Hiking Society to celebrate more than 200,000 miles of trails across all 50 states. For the past 16 years on the first Saturday of June each year, thousands of people across the country have raised awareness about trails through dedications, hikes, bike and horse rides, paddle trips, trail maintenance, and other activities. For the first time residents of the greater Portland region will have the opportunity to participate in a novel way on National Trails Day, learning how to map these trails ensuring effective stewardship, increasing access through education and inspiring future users.
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