OpenStreetMap Mapping Party: August 26, 2009

In conjunction with the aforementioned DodoLab event in Charlottetown next week, I’m instigating an OpenStreetMap mapping party on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Anyone who is interesting in learning how to make maps is welcome to attend.  You don’t need to know anything as we can walk you through everything you need to know, and partner up new learners with seasoned map-making veterans.  There’s no age limit and it’s all free.

The modest goal for this first Charlottetown OpenStreetMap event is to map the Experimental Farm and neighbouring areas, so we’ll meet at 6:00 p.m. at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market and use that as our base of operations.

We’ll start with some basic training, and then split up into squads and head out on foot, on bicycle, by car, or otherwise into the area in and around the farm to gather GPS traces for a few hours.  We’ll then reconvene to upload the map data to OpenStreetMap and then work on the process of editing the map itself with what we’ve gathered.

Official event details are on the OpenStreetMap wiki.  You can RSVP to me by email if you plan to attend.

Things that would be helpful to make the event a success:

• if you’ve used OpenStreetMap before, your expertise would be welcome to show the way for others.
• we need GPS receivers, standalone or built into mobile phones; if you have one or more, please bring them along.

If you want a little more background on the OpenStreetMap project, this podcast is a good place to start.

This promises to be lots of fun.