A passion project: Mary, Mary, quite contrary, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 does your garden grow?

I am been active as a member of my local gardening club for a little over a year. We meet throughout the planting season and take care of existing gardens and build new ones. There are currently seven sites throughout town, some are in small medians, and some are at larger sites with stone benches to sit and take in the beautiful, countryside surroundings.

As plans are made to get together, it occurred to me that I didn't know where all of the sites in town were. I didn't grow up here, and others like me who are transplants, might not know the town that well. Group texts would say "Let's meet at 9 am at the Veterans' Garden", and my response would often be "Where is that? I'll need the address".

Step 1: I created a CSV with the names and locations of each garden site.

Step 2: I used the CSV as a data source in PowerBI to create a visual map, with site names and addresses as a legend. I also added the names of each location on the map.

I now have a map of each location that I have shared to my local gardening FB site. And, it will be so easy to update when we add more sites (and we will!)

This map is a work in progress. I will be adding photos and stories of each site. One site, in particular, is a memorial to Andrew Shippee, a young man from town who was murdered in 1995 while serving in the Peace Corps. https://fpcv.org/volunteers/andrew-shippee/

This memorial is such a wonderful way the town has come together to honor his volunteer work and provide his family with a beautiful garden in his name. I am honored to be part of it and to help them heal. If you are ever in the area, you should visit. The location is on the map!