Major features include a 3/4 mile (1-1/4 km) Azalea Way, Loderi Valley with
large leaved Rhododendrons and Loderi hybrids, Foster Island wildlife
habitat, Rhododendron Glen with rhododendrons from dwarf to tree size,
Woodland Gardens, The Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden, Rock Garden,
The Brian O. Mulligan Sorbus Collection, and a Japanese Garden.
This is the first installation in which data from an existing
GIS was imported into BG-Map. The
conversion of data from the existing Terrasoft GIS involved several steps.
First, the base map was created by converting each existing Terrasoft
"theme" into a separate AutoCAD layer. Then, plant coordinates were
extracted from the existing Terrasoft accessioned plants "themes"
and written into BG-Map's coordinates file.
The base map for Norfolk Botanical Gardens was created by digitizing
existing aerial photographs and a hand drawn map of the rose
gardens. This was done by scanning the maps and hand digitizing
them using CAD Overlay software. For mapping plants, the Gardens
will be using a total station surveying instrument, along with the
BG-Map Total Station Interface software.
To create a base map for the Arboretum, existing paper maps
were digitized using CAD Overlay software. Because the
Arboretum is new, a grid system had not yet been established.
It was decided to set up a grid tied into the North
Carolina State Plane Coordinate system with a grid size of
100 feet by 100 feet (30 meters by 30 meters). This grid spacing
was chosen to meet
the Arboretum's objectives of mapping woody plants plus a
significant amount of herbaceous plant material. Markers,
which are used as reference points for determining plant
locations, were installed at several locations chosen to
provide a line of site to areas containing the initial
plantings to be mapped. Additional markers will be added
later as the living collection expands.
The Arboretum will be using an electronic total station
measuring instrument and the
BG-Map Total Station Interface
to ease the task of gathering plant location data. Because
of the mountainous terrain, the Arboretum requested that the
Total Station Interface be modified to permit the measurement
and recording of Z coordinates (elevations) as well as
X and Y coordinates. This enhancement has been incorporated
as a standard feature of BG-Map.
Setting up BG-Map at PepsiCo presented a challenge in data conversion.
The base map was relatively simple to create as PepsiCo already
had an AutoCAD - compatible map of the property that could be used with minor
modifications. The challenge was imposed by the need to transfer
the coordinates of approximately 5,000 plants from a series of
AutoCAD - compatible area maps into the BG-Map database.
This required the writing of several custom data conversion programs
both in AutoLISP (AutoCAD's programming language) and R/Basic
(Advanced Revelation's Programming language.)
The data conversion saved a huge number of person-hours and permitted
PepsiCo to begin using BG-Map with 5,000 plants already on line.
For future mapping and remapping, PepsiCo will be using an electronic
total station surveying instrument along with the
BG-Map Total Station Interface software.
Administration of the campus arboretum falls under the jurisdiction
of the Buildings and Grounds Department. Mapping of plants is
accomplished using only a tape measure. The distances from each
plant to two site features (such as corners of planting beds or
walkways) are measured and recorded. These measurements are then
keyed into BG-Map, using the "relative measurements" feature, to
accurately locate the plants on the AutoCAD map. This measurement
technique works very well at Salisbury State because there is an
abundance of good landmarks in close proximity to the plants being
mapped.
Updated November 27, 2000
The Washington Park Arboretum was founded in 1934 and is
operated jointly by the University of Washington and the City
of Seattle. It's 200 acres (80 hectares) contain over 5,500 different kinds
of plants suitable for the mild climate of the Puget Sound region.
Norfolk Botanical Gardens was established in 1938 under the Work
Projects Administration (WPA). Operated until recently by the
City of Norfolk, the gardens are now under the management of a
not-for-profit corporation.
Abetted by the mild coastal climate of Virginia's Tidewater
region, the gardens feature a large Camellia collection and
rose gardens with over 4,000 plants.
The North Carolina Arboretum is a brand new public garden
situated on 424 acres (170 hectates) in the Appalachian mountains
of western
North Carolina. Because of its proximity to the Blue
Ridge Parkway and two interstate highways, it promises to
become a major travel destination as well as a resource for
the people of the region.
Meticulously maintained plantings and fanciful sculpture combine
to create a beautiful effect at the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture
gardens at PepsiCo's world headquarters in Purchase, New York.
The Salisbury State campus arboretum is located on the Delmarva
peninsula, an area known as Maryland's "Eastern Shore". Midway
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, at a latitude
of approximately 38 degrees, the climate is suitable for the
cultivation of camellias, and other mild-temperate zone plants.
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