Description
One of the major things that my wife and I have looked for wherever we move is natural beauty and a good collection of public green space. So, when I walked by a park and creek reserve on the north end of our city, only to find more trash than green space, I was mortified. Working together with several individuals from Reddit we got the park to a reasonably clean state, removing over 400 gallons of trash. The experience made me realize, however, with over 480 parks, that as our city grew we needed a more self-sustaining solution to this problem.
After sharing the story on Reddit, one thing that struck me was how many people were eager and capable of physically helping with the problem but had insufficient supplies or funds, and how many people couldn’t physically help, but were eager to throw money at the problem. I’m not political, and I certainly don’t have the time or ability to clean up 480+ parks, but like many of you, I know how to throw some code together. So I decided to build a tool that would connect those individuals with the funds to help to those with the time and physical ability. This talk is about how I created that tool, which consists of REST API, Website, and Android/IOS application using only Python and Open Source technologies. Finally, it is about how all of us as programmers have the power to make a visibly positive impact in our community even from the comfort and familiarity of our keyboards.