David Afable

Hey everyone! This past week went well. I was able to contact my boss at the arboretum and she was more than willing to distribute my map to visitors. She's very supportive, so I'm glad I thought to ask her about it.

Other than that I've made some changes to my map. I've decided to change some colors, and am continuing to add more sites. I plan to start actually constructing the other components of my map (i.e. putting in pictures and the area descriptions) this week.

I look forward to the meeting coming up this week!

Camille Heyboer

Hi everyone!

So this week was actually a very productive week for me. I finally overcame my computer difficulties and managed to get set up on Green Map and Open Green Map. I had a bit of trouble getting some of the files to open on the very outdated programs on my computer, but I managed in the end. I have been able to replace the generic icons I was using before with the Green Map icons, which has really put me in a good position as far as getting the map done.

The sun also decided to shine in upstate NY this week, so I managed to get some pictures taken. I spent about 4 hours on Thursday driving around taking pictures at the Green Map sites in my area. I also typed up short information sheets for all the businesses that I visited, with a little bit of information about Green Map in general and specifically about the focus of the Utica Green Map. I got about 35 photos taken, but it took a long time because the sites are pretty far about. I'm hoping for another nice day this week to finish up the picture taking. I'm going to include the pictures in the media section on Green Map and probably also make the pictures into a powerpoint. I hope its going well for everyone else!

Morgan Leykam

Hey ya'll.  I finally figured out how to start my OGM (thanks to Wendy and Andrew- Thank You so much!).  I've added a couple of sites, only the ones I've already been to so I can add a short description about them.  When I actually get up to Syracuse, I'll be able to add more sites and make sure the ones I have on my to-do list are legit.  I'll probably be up there by the 18th or 19th.  Until then, I'll continue with my OGM and designs for the print-out map.

Andrew or Wendy, when is the best time to ask you about the printing process? like, where I would need to get it printed, what are the size confinements, etc.  I'm pretty sure I want it to fit in your pocket, but not sure about how it's going to fold yet.  I also made contact with a woman at the Syracuse University Office of Student Affairs who is very interested in having my map apart of freshman orientation materials.  I would love to have students sign up to be apart of CSAs would don't have a car to go to the supermarket, or for them to buy a bike instead of taking the bus everywhere.  I'd like to start good habits from the beginning.  But I don't just want freshman to get the map, but upper class men too.  I'll have to brainstorm with my contact about that.

So, a lot of good things are happening this week!  I hope everyone else is doing well too.  

David Afable

Hey guys, hope everyone's had a good week. Last week was hectic for me, so I wasn't able to accomplish much, unfortunately. I did manage to start plotting my sites onto my map and have chosen to add a couple more to my already "finalized" list.

This week, I'll have a lot more free time now that one of my jobs has ended, so hopefully I'll be able to focus on this project more and get a lot of it done. I have yet to contact my boss who runs the arboretum I worked at, but i'll get around to it soon.

Other than that, I just hope I can finish the ap soon and see what my final project looks like! Have a great week everyone!

Camille Heyboer

To begin, I would like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July, and apologize for the slight delay in my post. Last week was again one of bad weather in upstate NY, so most of my work was again done inside.

This week, I finalized the list of sites that I need to go take photos of, as well as decided what Green Map icons will apply to each site. I have plotted about half of them on my map, as well as included a description, phone number, email, etc. I decided last week that I should include the public transportation into my map, because many of the youth that this map is targeted at drive places, when they could in reality use the bus system. It will not only show youth that the transportation is available, but I think that including it in my Green Map will show youth how practical the bus system can be. In the description of each of the sites on my Green Map, I am going to include bus directions from the main bus hub to the site.

Diana Chang/Harlem/untitled

Hello everyone! Happy belated 4th of July and hoping everyone had a great time with family and friends. So far I was pretty busy with my work because of the holiday. I have tried to download the Green Map Icons font and I still have problems downloading the program. Please help ><.

Sadly, I didn't accomplish the goals I set up last week. So on Monday and Friday, I will spend my time listing out all the local businesses, recrational centers, healthy eating places, etc.; and then place the Green Map Icons that represent this places. In a meantime, I will come up with the reviews for each of these places so they provide helpful information to the map users.

As soon as I get everything started, I will post the update on this blog. Hopefully everything will get rolling.

Again, good luck everyone.

Morgan Leykam

Hey everyone! I started a Syracuse map on the OGM system, but I'm having some problems updating it. I can't log back in because it says my log-in information is invalid. Andrew and I are in communication about it, so hopefully we can get it figured out. Otherwise, I've spoken with a few of the sites that I usually frequent when I'm at school, asking them if they know of any other sites I could add. It's been really helpful, but I can't wait for my lease to start so I can get up there!

I've been thinking more and more about how I want my map to be received by my audience when it's finished. I would really like the university to make it apart of their orientation materials and for professors and RA's to promote it. My freshman year, to encourage students to get out, support downtown business owners, and take advantage of Syracuse's cultural sites, everyone was given a credit card with $25 or $50 dollars on it (I can't remember). As you can imagine, no one used it for that. I think a Green Map is a great way to alert students of great places that support the the enviornment too. My next mission is to find out who I should contact about map circulation. Maybe I could just promote it myself and go from class to class and start a buzz, we'll see. I'm also trying to figure out how to make this map apart of my senior project. I want to make an argument for local action effectiveness for sure, but how I'm going to develop that idea I'm not sure. We'll see what happens!

Diana Chang/Harlem/untitled

Hello, hoping everyone had a great week. I couldn't go to Harlem because it was Father's Day last week and I couldn't request for a day off. So I figured that it would be more convenient to use googlemap to list out all the local markets, healthy dining restaurants, recreational parks around the area. then I will search the reviews for each of these locations.

I also figured out to how make the map by using microsoft word and paint. so I am trying to create the map as identical as the google map but with different lineweights, and colors.

Again, I attended the Diabetes Prevention Workshop (5 sessions). I spoke with the director of the program and she is willing to give me more information and the social, economical, and political factos that may involve in this disease.

I had an idea about making a series of video clips that gives the youtube viewers healthy wellness tips. Unfortunately, I don't have enough people to help me with the videos. And without a cameraman, it will be hard to emit the message.

Hopefully next week I will visit Harlem one day and have my map constructed .

David Afable

Hey all, this week has been crazy. I was really busy, but I managed to get some work done on my map, especially yesterday and today, which I managed to get off from work. Unfortunately none of the businesses I emailed replied to my survey, so I had to resort to phone calls. I managed to get some information on some of the places that I want to include on my map. So far I have 11 sites that I want to include, and a couple more that I haven't been able to research yet. I'm still deciding on whether I want to print my map or not.

I've also decided on the shot from Google Maps that I want to use on the map and have made a list of the Green Map Icons that I want to use.

One of my jobs has me working at one of the arboretums that I want to include on my map. The main office at the top of the hill has a room full of animals that parents love to bring their children to. Even during the week there have been 2-3 visitors a day. I plan to introduce my map concept to my boss, and hopefully she'll be willing to hold and distribute the maps to the families. Seeing as my map is family oriented, this will be a big step and a deciding factor on whether I will print my maps or not.

This week I plan to begin the construction of my map. I'll be less busy than last week so I have some time set aside for the project.

Also, I requested Green Maps on facebook at the beginning of the week and no reply! :-( Anyway, have a great week everyone!

Camille Heyboer

Hello Everyone,

After finally finishing final exams this week, I was able to focus my attention on my Green Map. As my Green Map is youth-focused, I have been talking to my friends and classmates about sites that they know about. I have spent my time this week researching these sites and plotting them on Google Earth. As of now, I am just using placemarks to mark these sites, however it appears that Google Earth will allow me to incorporate the Green Map Icons into my map, as well as take screenshots that could eventually be put together into a single image for a website.

During the summer in Utica, we have "Utica Monday Nites" every Monday. This year they are incorporating "Green Days" to inform the community about environmentally friendly activities and products in our area. Since Utica Monday Nite is youth-friendly, and now has a degree of focus on environmental sustainability, I am going to include the schedule for Utica Monday Nite, as well as the various event sites, into my map. Upon researching Utica Monday Nite, I came across a business fair type event that is going to occur in a town near mine in September. I plan to contact the organizer and see if it would be possible for Utica's Green Map to be introduced at this time.

I have also decided that I will organize the sites on my map not only by the proper Green Map icon name, but also by different labels such as "Things to do, places to eat, etc." I think that this will make the map more youth-friendly, because it organizes the information in a really simple way.

I only really have a question about Open Green Map. For Organization and related information, should we just put "Green Map Internship" or something of the sort? Thanks.

- Camille