Welcome to the Hvaler webpage of Greenmapper Friends. On this page we briefly introduce the joint scientific experiment of the University of Groningen and Visit Fredrikstad & Hvaler!
What is Greenmapper?
GreenMapper Friends is a scientific experiment. Greenmapper is an online scientific web-platform that is geographical in focus. The reason we invented Greenmapper is because biodiversity and landscape quality is under pressure in many parts of the world. But in all the efforts underway to try to counter this pressure there is hardly any role for the love that people have for specific nature-related places. Nor is there a direct way for people to have a say in the discussions about the management of their loved landscapes.
Greenmapper explore a new ways of systematic data gathering and a new way of seriously connecting people to the nature-related places and landscapes that they love. This serves to support better nature and landscape policy and management.
Although we are aware that there is nothing beyond being outdoors and nothing beyond personal meetings we focus on making new online connections because in modern times our love for nature and landscape places stretches far. Greenmapper aims to get distance out of the equation when it comes to giving voice to the place you love.
What do we ask from you?
Greenmapper asks people to mark on a map the nature and landscape related places they love at local, regional, national and global level. It asks people to roughly indicate where they are living. Finally, it allows people to join into their own selection of communities of fans of the specific places they love, and through that connect in serious science-based communication with nature and landscape management organizations.
These are the steps in the scientific experiment
Step 1 Map places you love
Do you have specific places with green nature or water that you highly appreciate? Map them via GreenMapper Friends, and explain why you like them, what you like to do there. Your answer will help us understand your motivation for visit. The findings can inspire land management team and policymakers for future design
Stap 2 Join the online community
Once you have answered questions pop-up to you, you will be directed to the online community of your mapped area. The community is operated by the local land management team. You are now a “fan” and open to several functions:
- Open discussion
- Advanced large scale interactive statement polling via Pol.is
- Advanced virtual funding pledges for biodiversity, landscape quality or sustainable activities
Step 3 Become a ‘citizen scientist’ and receive reports from us
Help us organise events with more enthusiastic Hvaler lovers! Feel free to share the Hvaler online community link on Greenmapper with them! Once we have 500 registered fans, we will randomly select 10-20 participants to participate in an online meeting with the nature manager, municipality and other experts.
Once we have finished the data analyses, we will send all participants in the online meetings the meeting report after the meeting. If the participants agree on the content, we publish the results so that your efforts and those of other ‘citizen scientists’ get maximum attention.
Disclaimer!
Warning! Greenmapper is an easy-to-pick-up webapp for the general public. Still it remains scientific software. If you compare it with a simple written survey Greenmapper stands out as visually attractive and interactive tool. If you compare to big tech applications you may still find it far less fluent and user-friendly. Bear with us!