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College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio: Tree Inventory, Management Plan, and Asset Manager Software |
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In 2002 and 2003, Davey Resource Group conducted a comprehensive inventory of the College of Wooster’s 3,114 campus and golf course trees. The goal was to provide complete tree data to allow the grounds superintendent to manage the existing tree population in a more efficient manner. The inventory included locating and mapping all trees using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. A comprehensive tree management plan, based on the findings of the inventory, was written by a Davey Resource Group senior urban forester. The plan provided a comprehensive schedule of maintenance activities designed to reduce potential hazards and detailed a three-year complete tree care budget. The tree data were delivered in Davey Resource Group’s Asset Manager software. This software is based on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and provides the College of Wooster with a campus map displaying tree locations, tree inventory data, and other pertinent data layers all on one screen. The College of Wooster is now able to plan for work, record data about tree problems, track tree removals and installations, generate work orders for crews to perform tree maintenance activities, record all completed work, and print detailed reports about the campus trees and work completed.
The inventory was finished just in time, because in November 2003, a F2 tornado swept through the Wooster area, damaging many of the trees on the College’s campus. The College’s grounds superintendent was able to quickly determine which trees came down and where by using the Asset Manager software. Additionally, downed trees that had to be removed before insurance appraisers arrived were already documented before the tornado touched down, and this documentation meant an increase of thousands of dollars in the overall insurance settlement.
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