At our last meeting, someone outlined a very interesting idea which seems to have generated some excitement in the group. I'd like to run it by you all to see if anyone's tried this before, and if you have any suggestions on how to implement it.

The idea is to host an interactive map on our website, showing the local region in high detail. We then collect data from the community and show it visually on the map, eg:

• Home vegetable gardens
• Organic farms
• Green innovations
• Businesses that buy local produce
• Solar panels
• Biofuel producer
• Grey water system
• Designated permaculture 'zone'
  • Zone 1: Home garden
  • Zone 2: Town infrastructure
  • Zone 3: Small farms
  • Zone 4: Forestry
  • Zone 5: Native habitat
• etc

Once some of the map has been marked, people in the community moving towards sustainability can identify each other. This could facilitate the creation of 'green clusters' and business networks which could make progress more effectively than they could alone.

The map & data could also be used as the basis for an Energy Descent Action Plan.

There are some technical hurdles to jump before we can implement such a scheme. While I have some web development skills, I don't have any GIS experience and the learning curve may be steep. There seems to be a lot of open source GIS systems out there but it will take a lot of time and work to research to find the most suitable one and to learn how to use it.

Google Maps is not usable in our area due to the low-resolution coverage. Our local council (Caloundra City) already hosts an impressive online map with excellent resolution and numerous useful layers. Perhaps we can leverage this in some way.

Any ideas out there on a way to take this forwards?

Barry
http://www.blackallrangerelocalisation.org