Getting started with FoodMapper

Registering for Foodmapper

Before you register, please read the Terms and Conditions

To register click on the 'register' link on the right hand side of the page.

You will be asked to give you own nane and e-mail address and to select a memorable password.

Mapping land

You can map land that is already in community use or could be potentially available for such use. Depending on the data you give, the marker for this land parcel will appear as a different colour to denote its status. Be sure to answer all the questions with a red asterisk.

You map a land parcel by drawing its outline on the map and then recording information about the piece of land.

Make sure that before you start recording the plot of land you can clearly see its outline on the map. To drill down to the right level you can do the following:

  • enter the postcode or place name in the search box at the top of the map
  • use the directional arrows and ‘+’ & ‘-‘ icons found on the left-hand side of the map
  • double click on the map and drag the map to the place where you want to add a parcel

The Add Land Parcel button will appear and flash green once you are zoomed in enough.

Once you have a clear view of the area, click on the 'Add land parcel' button and then position your cursor at any point on the edge of the parcel of land and ‘click’. Then ‘click’ at each corner of the land parcel – when the outline is joined up it will turn green. If at any point you need to start again, click the Cancel button and start again.

You will then be asked to record information about the attributes, usage and ownership of the plot of land - some of the details are essential and you won’t be able to save the plot until you record them. This is because there’s no point in plotting land unless there’s enough information for a community group to be able to make progress on obtaining land in the case of land potentially available for use.

If you are in Somerset, click here to download a hard copy of the survey data you will need to collect in order to map a plot of land. If you are elsewhere, click here.

Confirming ownership of land

To confirm that you own a plot of land, you can then either:

  • plot your land parcel(s) and record information about it (see ‘Mapping land’)
  • confirm that you are the owner of a piece of land that has already been mapped and enter the basis on which you would be willing to offer it for use by local community groups.

Plotting Local Food Initiatives/Local Food Events/Local Food Producers and Groups Looking for Land

By choosing to map a Local Food Initiative you will be able to plot physical organisations and community groups (e.g. community shops, farm shops, farmers and country markets, chicken coops, headquarters of box schemes, seed saving groups, any kind of local food related venture etc) and food-related events (e.g. courses, open days and talks).

You can also map events, local food producers and groups looking for land.

Make sure that before you start recording any of the above, you can see a precise location clearly on the map (Foodmpapper won’t let you record a location until you get to a reasonably low level of detail, but make sure you are as accurate as possible, particularly if you want people to be able to find your premises!).

To drill down to the right level you can do the following:

  • enter the postcode or place name in the search box at the top of the map
  • use the directional arrows and ‘+’ & ‘-‘ icons found on the left-hand side of the map
  • double click on the map and drag the map to the place where you want to add a parcel

The Add buttons will appear and flash green once you are zoomed in enough. Click on the appropriate button at the right hand side of the map depending on what you want to plot then click on the appropriate part of the map.

You will then be asked to record information about whatever it is you are mapping - some of the details are essential and you won’t be able to save the location until you record them.

If you do make a mistake and find that your dot on the map is in the wrong place, you can edit the location. Just ‘hover’ your cursor over the dot and select ‘edit location’.

If you get stuck and you are in Somerset, please e-mail your question to help@somersetcommunityfood.org.uk, letting us know what you were trying to do and any error messages that you received.

If you are anywhere else, please e-mail your question to foodmapper@geofutures.com, letting us know what you were trying to do and any error messages that you received.