Mapping Past and Present for the Island's Future
- HF-ID: HF2021-03
- Category: Research Files
- Creator: Foster, D.R., Hall, B.R.
- Date: 2/1/2019 to 2/29/2020
- Location: Martha's Vineyard (MA)
- Media: Paper
- Contents:
- Proposal to Edey Foundation, 2019; Report on 2020 activities. 8.5 inches x 11 inches.
- Keywords: conservation, education and policy, mapping
- Abstract:
- The Vineyard Mapper. A Tool for Conservation, Planning, Education, and Exploration
- “What are those landscape features?” “Is it safe to build near that coast?” “How should we manage that land”?
- Whether you are perplexed by artefacts encountered on a beach or hiking trail; a planning board deciding whether a proposed building site is safe from sea-level rise; or a conservation group seeking to steward a property for its beauty or habitat value, history provide invaluable clues to understanding the land and making informed decisions about its care. The single most important factor explaining Vineyard landscapes and predicting their future is their past.
- A Meeting of Land and Sea—The Nature and Future of Martha's Vineyard provides an in-depth understanding of the history, ecology and conservation of the Island. To supplement that volume the Harvard Forest reprinted Henry Whiting exquisitely accurate 1850 map of the Island and created a web site to enable viewers to compare and contrast that thinly populated and forested landscape with the one that we inhabit today. The current proposal to the Edey Foundation seeks to build on those efforts and create The Vineyard Mapper, an online-tool that will allow diverse audiences to explore and understand the changes that have transformed the Island in the past two centuries. This computer-based tool and accompanying story maps should be invaluable for fun and education, as an aid in planning and conservation, and to enhance appreciation of the Island landscape and environment.
- Archives Location: Middle Room, stack 16, drawer 4
- Access: Active