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Go for Green blazes new trails in web mapping
Go for Green is a national non-profit, charitable organization that encourages people to be active outdoors in ways that protect, enhance, or restore the environment. Biking to work or school, gardening, building a backyard rink, and hiking are just a few of the activities Go for Green advocates.
In fact, to make it as easy as possible for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers to get their athletic fixes, Go for Green operates a website called "TrailPAQ" that describes some 3800 trails in Canada. Outdoor enthusiasts can use the website to learn about a trail's length, flora and fauna inventories, cross slopes, gradients, terrain surface types, and managers.
"We didn't want to subjectively rate the trails for difficulty," explains Mr. Jody Conrad, a consultant with Nova Scotia Go For Green. "We wanted to give people enough objective information to evaluate the trails themselves, and decide which ones matched their interests and abilities."
Where's the map?
As publicity about the site grew, and more and more people visited it, Go for Green heard a common request. "Everyone was asking for maps of the trails or at least the trail-head locations," says Mr. Conrad. "We didn't have that capability. That's when we hooked up with DM Solutions."
Founded in 1998, DM Solutions Group Inc. is a small company from Ottawa, Ontario, that develops web and desktop mapping solutions using open-source mapping technology. With support from GeoConnections, DM Solutions created a web-based mapping application that they subsequently tailored to meet the information needs of TrailPAQ users.
Seeing is believing
Now trail users can visit www.trailpaq.ca and zoom in on an interactive map of Canada. As users zoom in, clusters of green triangles pop up. These triangles each represent a trail-head location. Users can drill down to a 1: 50 000 view of the map, the lowest scale offered by Natural Resources Canada-Centre for Topographic Information. By clicking on the trail-head markers, users get information about each trail: its length, description, location, and other details.
"TrailPAQ was one of the first public uses of a Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure application," says Mr. Dave McIlhagga, President of DM Solutions. "Getting free dynamic web-based datasets from Natural Resources Canada was vital. These numerous datasets are published according to CGDI-endorsed standards, and given the volume of data that the web-mapping application uses, we couldn't have economically justified any other approach."
In addition to describing Canada's trails, the TrailPAQ website also caters to those who manage and build trails. Visitors can find information on trail-funding sources and environmentally friendly trail construction methods. And an on-line discussion forum lets trail managers share ideas and ask questions to fellow managers.
"TrailPAQ's greatest benefit is that it lets people easily discover many lesser-known trails," says Mr. Rob Gardner, Trail Specialist with the Alberta TrailNet Society. "The application will tell me about trails in smaller communities that don't have information offices or about those in smaller parks whose information offices close over winter. For instance, can I use the trails for cross-country skiing? TrailPAQ will let me know."
Climbing higher
Despite TrailPAQ's improvements, Mr. Conrad sees potential for even more map detail in the future. "People like the application now, but they want to see the entire trail, not just the trail-head location," he says. "They've got a taste of what's possible with geospatial technologies, and they want more."
When that day comes, Canadians will have even fewer excuses to avoid getting some hearty exercise. Pick a trail, print a map, and away you go. Now, if only hiking the trails was that effortless.
| GeoConnections is a national partnership initiative led by Natural Resources Canada to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) and make Canada's geospatial databases, tools, and services readily accessible on-line. |