Dr. Fawn Canady, SOU Assistant Professor of Education

What if a mapping is a form of community storytelling?

Collective Cartography is a place/community-based mapping project that brings people together to share individual stories, collectively.

In this IAS Collective Cartography session Institute for Applied Sustainability at SOU, we’ll explore cultural sustainability through mapping as a playful yet revelatory way to tell stories about ‘place.’ Cultural sustainability is about caring for a place by caring for the stories, memories, relationships, and cultural practices connected to it—recognizing that environmental stewardship and cultural preservation are deeply intertwined. If mapping is a form of community storytelling, what will we learn about each other and our places?

After a brief lecture, participants will create their own maps of Ashland—of memories, feelings, connections, or imagined futures. You can draw, write, doodle, or simply mark what matters. There’s no “right” way to do it. This workshop is about noticing, sharing, and imagining together.