Brugia Malayi - Clark Science Center - Smith College

Developing Forms and Maps for Data Collection for the Botanic Garden
Emily Barbour
The Botanic Garden of Smith College currently uses a closed source database called BGBase. Though this database fits the needs
of the botanic garden well because it was designed specifically for botanic gardens, it also has certain drawbacks. Understanding
BGBase requires detailed training and data entry is very time consuming because data from other programs cannot be imported
into BGBase. However, two groups are currently working on developing software that would link BGBase first to Sequel Server,
then, through this, to ARCGIS. In anticipation of this, an effort at Smith College has been made to prepare for the potential
advantages of the new interaction between the databases. My specific focus in helping in this effort was to create forms that
would allow Botanic Garden staff and interns to collect data in the field and then import the information directly into BGBase.
This summer I created four forms: a horticulture task form, plant move form, dead plant form and an inventory form. I
tested both FileMaker and Formstack as the programs to build the form, but FileMaker was ultimately chosen for our purposes
because it functions as a database and because it is supported by Smith College. To design the forms I first had to go onto
BGBase and familiarize myself with the structure of the tables within the database and the fields in BGBase that correlated with
the fields on the paper forms that are currently being used and served as a model. When I isolated the fields I exported the data
from BGBase to populate the forms. Once the data were imported into the tables I created in FileMaker, I built relationships
between relevant tables to auto populate certain fields so the forms would be easier to fill out. Using the data from BGBase, for
example, if you enter the name of a plant from the collection, the accession number will automatically be filled in. This would be
especially useful for populating codes necessary for BGBase that most people don’t know. My hope is that these forms can be put
to use to make data collection in the field simpler and data entry into BGBase more streamlined.
I also worked on digitizing a map of all of the water spigots on campus, as there is no known record of them and it can
be time consuming to locate them if you don’t know where they are. Because there is no list of the locations of the spigots, I
systematically walked the perimeter of each building on campus. When I found a spigot I would mark it’s location on a map that
I printed of the building’s shadows. We determined the GPS mapping units should not be used because their accuracy lessens the
closer you stand to a building while mapping a point, and the spigots are all located on the sides of the buildings. I also collected
relevant data about the spigots as I mapped them: whether they are keyed or not, whether they are functioning or not and any
abnormalities with the spigots. I included this information with the location of each spigot in ARCMap, so each spigot can be
classified and sorted within the program. Using this information I created a report of which spigots weren’t functioning as well as
visualizing what areas on campus are outside a two hose radius from a water spigot. It is my hope that this map can be used not
only to help workers find the spigots when they need to use them, but to monitor problem areas that are particularly far from any
spigots and maintain spigot functionality. (Supported by the Schultz Foundation)
Advisor: Michael Marcotrigiano
2012
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