Abstract
Paper
4-H Community Mapping - Engaging Youth in Community GIS
Track: Community Projects and Partnerships
Authors: Jim Kahler, Tom Tate
Learn how federal, state and local agencies in hundreds of counties nationwide have strengthened the delivery of their mission and outreach through partnering with 4-H Youth Community Mapping projects. "Alert, Evacuate, Shelter" brought together 4-H youth and adults with local government emergency officials to enhance community preparedness through mapping and community information outreach. 4-H and Fish and Wildlife Service are collaborating to pilot year-long 4-H mapping projects on FWS facilities in five states. The Food Environment Atlas developed by USDA to support the White House "Let's Move" initiative provides a spatial overview of a community's access healthy food to study the potential impacts on residents' food choices and diet quality. 4-H groups will use geospatial tools to contribute local data to the atlas. These are several examples of how agencies have strengthened their educational outreach and helped to develop tomorrow's GIS professionals by working with local 4-H youth GIS programs.