Elmhurst College Arboretum gets some high-tech attention

Two men armed with laser and GPS devices were taking aim at trees on the Elmhurst College campus recently. Not to worry, they came in peace. Their visit to the campus was part of a high-tech project that will enable the school to better care for the more than 3,000 trees and shrubs that make up the Elmhurst College Arboretum. Their efforts will ultimately lead to a more interactive experience for arboretum visitors and donors.

The men were certified arborists based at the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories, in Charlotte, N.C., conducting an inventory of the campus trees that will result in a digital tool for the college to track the care needs of the trees and shrubs on the 38-acre grounds.

"Right now, our current inventory, which was done around five years ago, sits in a three-ring binder," says Paul Hack, grounds and maintenance superintendent for the college. "It just lists the species and gives a grid-map location for each tree. It doesn't even give the size of the tree. Plus, many things have changed since the last inventory."

"The primary goal of the inventory is to be able to create a living, working management plan for the arboretum," said Scott Jamieson, vice president of Bartlett Tree Experts, the international tree-care company that developed the inventory system. With Chicago-area offices, Bartlett works in partnership with Mr. Hack in caring for the arboretum trees.

"Paul knows his trees and where they are," says Jamieson, "but we'll be able to create a dynamic database for him that includes health condition, pruning needs, soil management considerations, the presence of insect pests, nearby buildings and hardscape that could impact the trees and more.

"And we assign a treatment priority to each one. So with the click of a key at his computer, Paul can see a color-coded map of all his top-priority trees and shrubs, and what needs to be done for them."

Eventually the information will be on the college's website for visitors to refer to, or for donors to check out the progress of their tree donation.

"We get calls from people asking what their tree looks like," said Hack. "Now they'll be able to see for themselves."