Inspiration
Many residents in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area want to spend more time outdoors but often struggle to find new parks, trails, conservation areas, and nature destinations to explore. We wanted to create a centralized platform that makes discovering outdoor locations easier and encourages people to connect with nature. Our goal was to help users find hidden gems around the GTA while making outdoor exploration more accessible and enjoyable.
What it does
Project MARD is a web application that helps users discover outdoor destinations across Toronto and the GTA. The platform provides a curated collection of parks, trails, conservation areas, and other nature-focused attractions that users can browse and explore. Each location includes relevant information and direct links to help users plan their visits. By bringing these destinations together in one place, Project MARD makes it easier for residents to discover new outdoor experiences.
How I built it
We built Project MARD using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create a responsive and user-friendly website. We used GitHub for version control and collaboration, allowing team members to work simultaneously on different components of the project. We also integrated the Google Maps API during development to provide location-based functionality and researched outdoor destinations throughout the GTA to build our database of locations. The final website was deployed online to make it accessible to users.
Challenges I ran into
One of the biggest challenges was integrating the Google Maps API. We encountered issues related to API key restrictions, which required troubleshooting and modifying configuration settings. Another challenge was displaying location pins properly on the map. Since this issue could not be resolved within our development timeline, we implemented hyperlinks to locations as an alternative solution. We also faced difficulties managing multiple HTML files after uploading and organizing them within our GitHub repository, requiring additional debugging and file management.
Accomplishments that I’m proud of
We are proud of successfully creating a functional platform that addresses a real-world problem and encourages outdoor engagement. Despite technical challenges, our team adapted quickly and found alternative solutions that allowed the project to remain fully usable. We are also proud of our teamwork, collaboration, and ability to learn new technologies while building a complete web application within a limited hackathon timeframe.
What I learned
Through Project MARD, we gained experience with web development, API integration, GitHub collaboration, and project deployment. We learned how to troubleshoot technical issues, work effectively as a team, and adapt when planned features do not work as expected. The project also taught us the importance of user-centered design and creating solutions that provide practical value to a community.
What’s next for Project MARD
In the future, we plan to add a search and filtering system that allows users to find locations based on specific interests and activities. We would also like to integrate the Ollama API to provide personalized outdoor destination recommendations. Additional features include displaying local events and volunteer opportunities through external APIs, allowing users to save personalized exploration plans, and creating user profiles to enhance the overall experience. These improvements would transform Project MARD into a more intelligent and personalized outdoor discovery platform.
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