Sarah Reichard – 91探花News /news Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:41:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Searchable by cell phone or GPS unit, interactive map for arboretum being created /news/2013/02/20/searchable-by-cell-phone-or-gps-unit-interactive-map-for-arboretum-being-created/ Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:09:27 +0000 /news/?p=22509 Since it opened in 1934, the has been home to thousands of plant collections and species, each with a meticulously kept record and history. A computerized database for record keeping was established in the early 1990s but more than 55 years of the earlier records have remained preserved solely on paper, scribbled on grid maps or recorded in countless handwritten notes.

The started work last August on a two-year project to 聽digitize those records and create an interactive geographic information systems map for the entire park. Eventually planners and visitors will be able to go online and pinpoint specific plants and collections within the arboretum, and access all sorts of historical details.

Grid paper with Arboretum Way sketched in, plants noted
Handwritten notes and updates for one of the 100-foot by 100-foot parcels in the 230-acre Washington Park Arboretum. Photo: 91探花Botanic Gardens/U of Washington

“People will be able to find an area in the arboretum, then zoom down and see which plants are there,” says , project manager and information technology librarian at the UW’s . “It will be really fascinating and educational to have all of that history linked to the plant records, and accessible online to everyone.”

One of the first tasks of the project was to begin surveying and verifying the geospatial coordinates of the 230-acre park, which decades ago was divided into 595 grid squares, each 100 feet by 100 feet. When those grid markers and coordinates are confirmed, they will be used to create a map that supports the geo-referenced database. Two- and three-person teams of students and staff have already been out surveying for the past couple months.

It’s a multitiered project, and Mehlin has been working closely with other partners at the 91探花.

, director of 91探花Botanic Gardens, is the principal investigator on the grant along with , a 91探花professor of environmental and forest sciences. , a research scientist and engineer with the College of the Environment, has been helping coordinate the student survey crews and GIS mapping. 91探花information systems engineer David Campbell is working on the searchable database and Web interface.

Map showing Arboretum way and details of where plants are located
The same grid with digitized information and incorporating GIS mapping. Photo: 91探花Botanic Gardens/U of Washington

Others involved are helping with various projects, including digitizing the existing maps, as well as handwritten notes and histories attached to each of the park’s 10,000 “accessions,” plants that are part of the formal collection. 聽The 91探花Botanic Gardens owns and manages the collection in the arboretum which is a City of Seattle park.

When completed, the searchable database will be a boon for environmental research, park management and visitors, Reichard said.

“The idea is that eventually you’d be able to get the coordinates of a particular collection, like our magnolias, and locate them on your cell phone or GPS unit,” she said. “We can start putting together virtual tours, and visitors can go from plant to plant.”

Awarded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the grant is expected to run through August 2014.

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