Do you want to learn how to create and maintain accurate collection maps for your garden using the industry's leading GIS software?

As a part of a strategic goal to support the collection management and plant conservation by their member gardens, the American Public Gardens Association has extended its partnership with Esri by renewing an agreement that provides low cost GIS software to their member gardens, along with free training, books and free registration for garden staff at the Esri International User Conference a treme

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS was invited to showcase the GIS work of public gardens at the 2012 Esri International User Conference in San Diego, CA in mid-July to an estimated attendance of over 15,000 GIS users from around the world.

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS has been invited to showcase the GIS work of public gardens at the 2012 Esri International User Conference in San Diego, CA in mid-July, and we would like to give our members a chance to have their work displayed in front of the over 15,000 attendees from all over the world.

The APPG is pleased to announce that the videos of our June 10 GIS for Public Gardens: Getting Started workshop are now available for viewing and download on our website. Now you may work through the exercises at home or work at your own pace by downloading the complimentary agenda, presentation slides, and exercise data. Go to Workshops

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS is thrilled to announce the release of Collection Researcher version 1.0, an innovative web application developed in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University that provides unique access to the Arboretum's living plant collections through its geographic information system (GIS).

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS is thrilled to celebrate the 100th download of the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model since our Beta Program began on March 17, 2011.  The data model was downloaded for the 100th time by the Australian National Botanical Gardens in Canberra, Australia who have joined the ranks of users and partners from 18 other countries around the world that are employing the model to help manage their living collections.

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University have teamed up for offerings of the successful GIS for Public Gardens, Managed Landscapes and More: An Introductory Workshop to be held on Tuesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 25 at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. If you are interested in mapping your garden's plant collection, this full-day workshop will guide you through the process of creating a GIS for a public garden or similar institution using Esri ArcGIS and the newly released version of the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model.

An article by Brian Morgan in the latest issue of Arnoldia describes how GIS is used in the plant sciences, and details the components of a typical system as well as how these systems are applied for biodiversity assessment, conservation, collecting expedition planning, and collection curation. View & Download the Article

The Alliance for Public Gardens GIS is pleased to announce the release of a reference poster for the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model. This poster includes a view of the model as viewed in ArcCatalog, a structure diagram that shows the relationships between feature classes, a list of thematic layers that can be created by grouping feature classes, and a schema diagram for the Plants thematic group that details the feature classes, domains, and relationships it contains.