Campus News
October 31st, 2023
Hermann seeking to get people outdoors
JCLS speaker created Purple Lizard Maps to promote outdoor adventure
Purple Lizard Maps was created in 1997 with a specific goal in mind.
"The outdoor community was growing and I knew that by designing high-quality trail maps, I would help get more people outdoors," Purple Lizard Maps founder Michael Hermann told The Adventure Bureau Dispatch in a recent interview.
Hermann, November's Joan Crawford Lecture Series presenter, said creating Purple Lizard Maps permitted him "to do what I loved for a living – which is making really great maps."
Hermann – who is currently preparing a Purple Lizard map of Deep Creek – will speak about Adventure Cartography on Wednesday, November 15th at 6 p.m. in the recital hall in the Performing Arts Center at Garrett College. The Pennsylvania State University graduate has created 14 different Purple Lizard Maps that cover three states and Puerto Rico.
"Over the past two decades Purple Lizard Maps have made a significant contribution to economic development in rural areas of the Mid-Atlantic region via their high quality and unique outdoor adventure based maps," said Professor Andy Hershey, program director for Garrett College's Outdoor Leadership and Adventure (OLA) Education program.
"We're very excited for the upcoming release of the Purple Lizard map covering the Deep Creek region," added Hershey. "We expect the release of this map to have a positive impact on our community, as well as the outdoor programs at Garrett College."
"Purple Lizard Maps has been a big driver of recreational tourism and recreation economies in every community we develop a Lizard Map," Hermann – who also developed the Historic Atlas of Maine while working at the University of Maine – told The Dispatch.
Joan Crawford Lecture Series presentations are free and open to the public.
