Western Kentucky University
IN-24: Innovation A

The WKU Arboretum Tree Viewer is an educational and planning element that supports our tree care plan for the main campus. The Tree Viewer is a web-based GIS map of the entire main campus forest. Each tree is included in the inventory and any tree can be selected on the map for information such as species, common name, size, and other information. Alternatively, if a user is looking for an example of a particular species, the query tool can be used to find individual trees that meet the search criteria. The WKU Arboretum Tree Viewer is the culmination of several student research projects under the direction of the WKU Planning, Design and Construction Department. The trees were collected by a Trimble GPS unit, aerial digitizing, field measurements and digitized from field photos. A detailed tree study was conducted in year 2009 to determine each tree species, genus, diameter, flower color, multistem, and other fields. Another detailed study was conducted in March 2013 to update the geographic location of each tree on WKU's Main Campus. In November 2014 to January 2015, another comprehensive study was conducted. This study included verifying the geographic location of each tree, inventorying missing trees, measuring the DBH (Diameter Breast Height) and identifying the scientific name for each tree.