Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County

HCC - geocaching project

“Mapping Our Footsteps” is a highly collaborative project that includes Healthy Community Coalition (HCC), The Center for Community GIS (CCGIS) and the Mountain Counties Heritage (MCH).  The overall goal of the project is to deepen the knowledge of Quality of Place assets to stimulate their use to create social, educational, and economic benefits.  To accomplish this goal the project works to build and/or strengthen community networks with a focus on the engagement of youth and their families, build a knowledge base relating to the Quality of Place assets in Greater Franklin County, and establish a new, more integrated system for information management and dissemination using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a platform. 

The project engages area youth and their families, and community organizations that work with youth and families, in the use of cutting-edge digital mapping technologies (Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems).  Participants physically explore trails and towns in order to inventory and map key assets across the county that include hiking trails, recreational sites, points of cultural interest, and heritage sites.  This initiative has the added benefits of encouraging environmental stewardship, service to communities, and increasing physical activity.  In order to engage the public in the project, HCC and its partners work closely with schools, students, parents, business leaders, and others to enlist and train youth, their families, and adults who work with youth to participate.   

By engaging youth and their families in the active identification, documentation, analysis of Quality of Place assets, there is an increased likelihood that young people, with help, will care for, responsibly use, and promote these assets.  Thus, their enhanced connection to the natural environment and local cultural heritage will increase their appreciation and participation in the places they call home, helping to ensure that they are not lost for generations to follow.  As a result of stressing the interests and values of young people and getting their buy-in, as well as the buy-in of their families, it is hoped that public opinion can also be changed as they themselves recognize how much they have to gain or lose from Quality of Place management decisions. 

“Mapping Our Footsteps” will have accomplished its goals when there is an increase in the number of youth and adults using Quality of Place assets, actively participating in the care and maintenance of these assets, educating and encouraging others to make use of these assets, and are involved in future planning of the assets whether it be through public opinion, policy work, marketing, or other means.  Once created, the geo-library and maps will be a permanent, valuable resource available to the community and individuals anywhere who access the internet.  Finally, this project will have accomplished its goals when there is an on-going discussion and recognition of the essential relationship between Maine’s environmental well-being and its economic prosperity and overall quality of life.

About the 2009 Grantees

Casco Bay Estuary Partnership

 GrowSmart Maine (PDF)

 Healthy Community Coalition 

Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund 

Maine Development Foundation 

Maine Farmland Trust 

Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine,

Trust for Public Land 

 

Learn More

EFN’s Quality of Place Initiative