Spring 2024 Sustainability Fellow: Madison Askins

Partner: Leon County Office of Sustainability

Project: Update and Refine the GreenMap

Student: Madison Askins

Over the 2024 Spring semester, Madison Askins, a fourth-year undergraduate in Public Health, partnered with the Leon County Office of Sustainability as a Sustainability Fellow. Madison’s project focused on an often overlooked aspect of sustainability in the urban environment: information and access to green spaces. 

Green spaces are largely what they sound like, spaces in urbanized areas where residents can access nature and natural landscapes. Considering the Leon County GreenMap hadn’t been updated since 2016, it was high time it received some attention, adding new spaces and deactivating older ones that no longer existed. Keeping accurate track of these spaces is not only important for the county office but can also be important for Leon County residents. 

As a current student in the Public Health program, Madison was well aware of how these spaces can have great impacts on a resident’s quality of life: 

“Being able to take advantage of green spaces has been linked to improved mental and physical health. Through this project, the Leon County Residents are able to find greenspaces within a designated mileage. This allows people to find greenspaces within walking distance,” Madison explained.

Madison’s project focused on combing through the current map and documents of information, updating it with information on various locations and functionality. The focus of this project was on updating and organizing the existing data on locations around the county, and then, from there, ensuring this updated information was accessible to the public. Site activity was determined via their social media presence and, in the case of those lacking an active online presence, reaching out via phone or email to verify whether they were inactive as a site. From there, as sites were verified as active or inactive, the map could be properly updated. 

In the process of completing this project, Madison uncovered a passion for sustainability and urban planning. Gaining experience in professional communication and GIS (Geographic Information System) technology has opened new doors. 

Explaining the impact the project has had on her academically and professionally, Madison said, “Completing this project helped me to decide which graduate program to go into. Originally, I was going into the Public Health program but now I will be pursuing a Master's in Urban Planning next semester. I have loved working on one of the sustainability initiatives that the Leon County Office had.” 

Before Madison’s work, the GreenMap hadn’t been updated internally or for public use in eight years, leaving residents with a map that led to places that no longer existed or lacking important newer green spaces. Now, twenty-five new locations have been added and fifty-three deactivated to reflect the reality of Leon County as of 2024. With this update, both county officials and residents can feel confident in navigating the sustainability features of the area around them. 

To see Madison’s final results, click here! 

To learn more about the Sustainability Fellows program, visit sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/sustainability-fellows.