Home Edders become mappers digital mapping workshop

Empowering Home Edders to have their say and become mappers

A photo of the person.
Kim Hutchinson
22/04/2026

The Home Edders become Mappers Project is a project that empowers young people who are home educated to have their say about where they live by becoming Mappers themselves. It aims to create a group of young mappers who can continue to map in the future, hoping to nurture the longevity of the legacy of the Public Map.

Within the workshops, Home Edders have explored what a map is and what a map can be used for, and as a group, we have discussed and challenged any preconceived ideas of maps.

The Home Edders have also created their own Umap layers about their individual experiences of Ynys Môn. Their Umap layers depict their experiences, memorable moments, places of interest, opinions of places and locations on Ynys Môn. The Home Edders become mappers Umap contains numerous experiences and memorable moments which have been recorded using imagery, descriptive text, symbols and colour.

Learning how to add images to their pinpointed areas on their layers.
Learning how to create layers, add markers and pinpoint locations of interest.
Adding description to their markers to give context to their Umap layers.
Learning how to add images to their marker points using Wikimedia Commons.

The Home Edders wanted to explore their Umap as a collective and to use it to inspire a visual art piece using the shapes, patterns, lines and colours they identified within their Umap. These will be used to create a physical artistic representation of their experiences.

Exploring shapes and patterns found within their Umap layer.
Exploring shapes and patterns found within their Umap layer.
Transcribing the walks and shapes of Anglesey onto canvas — which will develop into a visual representation of their Umaps combined.
Using colour and line to explore abstract marking and patterns associated with their Umap recordings.
Using line to explore shapes and patterns found from routes recorded on their Umap layers.

Whilst the workshops contribute towards Public Map — which will hopefully influence and inform future planning on Ynys Môn — the Home Edders have also developed fantastic resources and widened their educational experiences. The workshops have provided opportunities for these young people to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of:

  • Digital mapping
  • Map reading and interpretation
  • Their local area
  • A sense of place
  • Self-reflection
  • The value and impact of sharing individual opinions and experiences with others
  • Conceptual thinking to depict their experiences visually on a map

These young people's confidence in expressing their opinions and experiences has grown considerably. They are now confident mappers and have started to show their peers and others how to create a Umap. They are also confident when explaining how maps can be used to inform community decisions and as a tool to positively shape their future environments and communities.

Working towards a future that prioritises the wellbeing of people and planet.
Public Map Platform is being led by Cambridge, Cardiff and Wrexham Universities and is part of the Future Observatory - the Design Museum’s national research programme for the green transition. The project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This website does not use cookies and does not collect personally identifying information.
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