Sustainable Lawrence Hosts Green Mapping Workshop

Green mapping – what is it? Why should we want it? What is involved? How will it benefit Lawrence Township?

These questions and more will be answered when Wendy Brawer, a representative of Greenmap.org, visits Lawrence Township on Wednesday, Nov. 30, for an informational session beginning at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the at 2211 Lawrence Rd. (Route 206).

Earlier this year, to fund the creation of so-called green maps showing natural, cultural and sustainable resources located within the respective communities.

Green mapping started in 1995 and currently involves more than 775 cities, towns and villages in 60 countries.

As each green map is unique to its community, Sustainable Lawrence and the Lawrence Township Green Team are hoping members of the community will turn out Wednesday night to offer input about which Lawrence Township locations should be included on the map. It is hoped to have the local green map completed by the Fall of 2012.

Tahirih Smith, president of Sustainable Lawrence, said she is excited about the project.

The first step, she said, is to take data already available and plot it on the new Lawrence Township green map. The Green Team is working with the township’s Sustainable Mobility Committee to include Geographic Information System (GIS) data for already-known natural resources, specimen trees, public and private solar projects, the , local trails, and safe pedestrian and bicycle routes.

Plans are also in the works to enlist the aid of township schools to “fine tune” the map. Smith said teachers from Ben Franklin Elementary School and Lawrence Intermediate School have expressed an interest in using the green mapping project as part of a greater classroom activity.

Smith said Sustainable Lawrence’s goal is to also work with local boy scout and girl scout troops, places of worship, the township garden club, the , and other groups to make the Lawrence Township map “special.”

After the map is created and made available online at Greenmap.org, members of the Lawrence Township community will be encouraged to upload pictures of different points of interest so people around the world can take a virtual tour of Lawrence Township, and also to make it easier for area residents to discover Lawrence Township’s hidden treasures.

Some of the maps currently available at Greenmap.org include free-to-use features that allow users to customize the maps based on individual interests. Some advanced maps, such as the one for Woodbridge, include walking tours that can be downloaded to smart phones. If biking is your interest, for example, the green map system can help you customize a safe biking route through an unfamiliar city.

Hillsborough Township held its green map workshop last month. Montgomery’s workshop will take place in December. And the Princeton are holding a meeting in January to discuss their plans.

Working together, the towns will be able to create a larger map that will include shared resources, such as transportation routes, bike and pedestrian paths, open spaces, the Delaware & Raritan Canal, Sourland Mountain, and other features.

For more information about Lawrence Township’s green mapping project, contact Andy Link at ALink@LawrenceTwp.com or Tahirih Smith at Tahirih@SustainableLawrence.org.