Google Trekker now gives you a street view of a park from every waterfall to outdoor park bench

Google Trekker now gives you a "street" view of park

Most people are familiar with Google Maps Street View and how it documents streets on the planet. But in commemoration of Earth Day, how about a "Park View" where you can take a virtual tour of parks and see everything from a waterfall to an outdoor park bench?

As we have seen so much in this digital age, it's doable. Google has launched a new program called "Google Trekker" where a person can literally walk through a park with their camera and record a 360-degree view of the surroundings.

For years, Google Street View has amazed the webisphere with its photographic documentation of nearly every street in the world. Every street. Go to Google Street View and type in your address. Chances are the Google car with the weird googley-eyed camera mounted on top has driven past your house and snapped a photo of it.

But most of the world is not accessible by car. Much of it is accessible by pathways. That's where Google Trekker comes in.

The Conservation Fund recently teamed up with Google Maps to create virtual tours of several places in the country the fund helped to protect. A trekker, wearing a 4-foot-tall, 40-pound camera and backpack, walked through these sites recording every tree, mountain, river, gully, historic landmark, etc. located in these parks.

"We hope that panoramic, fully navigable imagery of these places on Google Maps enables people to explore and learn about these sites of historic significance and national pride," said Deanna Yick, Google Maps Street View Manager.

The Conservation Fund's president and CEO, Larry Selzer, said in a press release, "For three decades our entrepreneurial staff has worked with the best partners to find innovative conservation solutions that make economic sense."

"Google Trekker enables people everywhere to experience the beauty and significance of the places we protectÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âeven if they aren't able to travel there," he added. "As we become more of an urban nation, and as the demographics of our country continue to change, reconnecting peopleÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âespecially young peopleÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âwith nature will be less about bringing kids to nature, and more about bringing nature to the kids."

The Conservation Fun has protected more than seven million acres of land in the United States. That's not an easy thing to do. So, yes, they need all the help they can get. Making citizens aware of their efforts will certainly help.

In addition to land acquisition, The Conservation Fund is also involved in issues concerning water quality, carbon emissions, the climate, land conservation loans, mitigation solutions and creating collaborative solutions with various groups and organizations.

Okay, but there's the flipside to all of these virtual tours. Some people might argue, well, if you document every trail in every park in the world, why bother getting off your couch and actually going to these places?

There's a danger is adopting this view. However, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives for a few reasons.

First of all, getting a human-eye glimpse of a fantastic park could actually act as an inspiration to motivate more people, especially young people, to visit those parks. Currently they might have the misconception - "Ahh, those parks are nothing but poison ivy, mosquitoes and hills you have to climb all day long. I'd rather play on my Xbox."

Perception is reality. But when people can actually see a glimpse of the actual reality, it might change their minds. The secret is probably not to show students the entire virtual tour of a park, but a few juicy tidbits to get them motivated and excited. Also, this generation will someday be stewards of our natural resources. You want them to see what they will be in charge of preserving.

They can also see there are plenty of amenities and park furnishings at these places so it's not all hiking and no rest. Be sure to document the location of every outdoor park bench, drinking fountain, shelter, etc.

Secondly, these virtual tours can also be useful in planning visits to parks and landmarks. Use the path views and maps to find and make note of where you can find an outdoor park bench, drinking fountain, shelter, park grill, picnic table and other park furniture. Make plans for taking breaks or eating a meal and recharging.

This is useful for the elderly as well. A walk in a park or a historic site is fine. But if you have bad knees, it's nice to know there is an outdoor park bench around the corner where you can take a break and watch a waterfall.

Here's a list of the places cataloged by Google Trekker with the help of The Conservation Fund. Google also has a form that a non-profit organization can fill out requesting that the Google Trekker come with their 15-lens camera and document their corner of the world.

It's certainly a big world out there. Now thanks to Google, here's a big window to see it. Not the asphalt part, but the natural part.