ARMSTRONG, Jody - 2008

Perception of Place Community Mapping as an Effective Communication Tool

This research explores the use of community mapping as a tool for stewardship groups to engage  and empower multi-stakeholders in an attempt to bridge the gap between communities and decision-makers. Increased environmental awareness and the democratization of science have spawned a new movement known as Community-Based Monitoring (CBM). The study proposes the implementation of community mapping to identify stewardship groups’ priorities, build capacity, track their monitoring efforts, and serve as a resource in the information delivery process. Stewardship groups face a challenge in the communication of their knowledge and monitoring information to decision makers. Numerous studies have identified that the greatest shortfall for community groups in Nova Scotia is the lack of collaboration between with decision makers; therefore the researcher proposes community mapping as a resource to not only build capacity, but also to mitigate the gap that exists in Nova Scotia. Community mapping has been implemented in Ontario for the Monitoring the Moraine project on the Oak Ridges  Moraine and in British Columbia by the Watershed Alliance of Chilliwack in the conduction of their watershed assessment. The researcher applies the community mapping ‘snap shot’ approach utilized in both Ontario and British Columbia to the Cow Bay Lake Watershed Network in Nova Scotia.