Kickstarter: Druid Hill Park Passport: Discover; Enjoy; Learn; Be active!

About this project

Druid Hill Park Passport 

When Baltimore Green Map created the tantalizing, informative Druid Hill Park Green Map, we set aside 5000 maps for this Passport project. Why? Because it's one thing to learn about a place by reading a map, but our goal is to have more people experience more aspects of the park, to visit it frequently, and ultimately become advocates for maintaining and improving it.  "Discover. Enjoy. Learn. Be active!" covers the sequence we hope to inspire. This Kickstarter will fund activity refinement, graphic design, and printing of 5000 passports. 

The Passport, accompanied by the DH map, will be a guide to this wonderful 745-acre park in the center of Baltimore, Maryland. It will contain 16 pages of activities to help you get to know the park through experiences around the themes: Nature, Exercise, History and Culture.  With each activity you will record the results, then bring the passport to the Conservatory to get it stamped. Actually observing, listening, walking, running, playing, relaxing at places throughout the park, then recording, composing, drawing, imitating, exerting, imagining....how can you resist becoming a Druid Hill Park fan? Passport + map will be available for free at places and events in the park and by request.

Key to this project is our use of the international Green Map® icons to signify the resources in the park and to be the actual stamps. I started Baltimore Green Map as the local mapmaking affiliate of this international network. I wanted to "map the positives" here in Baltimore, the places that contribute to making this such an interesting and livable city. We look forward to sharing this project as a model for other Green Mappers, now active in 63 countries worldwide, mapping what makes communities livable and sustainable.

We are testing ideas now with Friends of Druid Hill Park members, park-enthusiast families, and willing neighbors to be sure the instructions are clear and the activities engaging. Our graphic designer, Elizabeth Gething, has created some fine sample pages! 

Our Incentives

The Passport is very much a collaborative project. Advocates and stewards of the park are pitching in to offer a wide variety of incentives.  You can choose rewards that highlight any of our themes - nature, exercise, history & culture - or just feel good that you are helping.  We will invite you to a celebration at the very wonderful Rawlings Conservatory when the Passport is completed, but will send it out if you cannot attend. 

Even if you don't live in Baltimore, you will love the map, created in collaboration with graphic designer Joanne Cooper Wingard. It was featured in the most recent Cooper Hewitt National Design Triennial exhibit.

I'm grateful to my Passport partners - the Friends of Druid Hill Park, the Rawlings Conservatory staff, Disc Golfers, and Baltimore City Recreation & Parks Department.  Huge thanks to Chris Hartlove who helped me create our video, to Harlan Brothers for use of his music, "Secret Song," and to you Kickstarters who help us complete this project!