Nearmap: covering changing ground
Aug 2024
Nearmap and the National Arboretum Canberra.
Aug 2024
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Image: Nearmap logo banner at the National Arboretum Canberra.
“A society grows great when people plant trees under whose shade they know they will never sit.” (Proverb)
The National Arboretum Canberra is recognised as one of the top 10 urban wonders to explore around Australia and one of Australian Traveller’s Top 100 Aussie Wonders.
Its trees – 101 different species planted in forests ranging from 0.3–6 hectares create spaces of shade, reflection and inspiration for more than 700,000 visitors each year. For more on the National Arboretum Canberra, read part one of this blog series.
As Nearmap continues to innovate and grow with class-leading technology – such as our latest Australian designed and built camera technology, HyperCamera 3 (HC3), AI data on every survey flown, 3D models, and Near Infrared – we relaunched the Nearmap brand to reflect our visionary future direction.
After weeks of close meteorological and Air Traffic Control (ATC) monitoring by our survey and Geospatial Content Operations (GCO) team, on Monday 29th July, our survey flight captured high-resolution imagery of the new Nearmap logo on the ground at the National Arboretum Canberra.
The Nearmap marketing team used the collaboration tool in MapBrowser (coming soon) to measure and locate the most suitable location for the banner – which was a gently sloping section of land (average slope -10.2%) located just to the south-east of the Village Centre.
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As the aircraft made its way from Sydney airspace, specially fitted with Nearmap HC3 camera technology, preparation began at ground level in Canberra as the Nearmap marketing team unfurled a 45 m x 13 m banner printed with the new Nearmap logo.
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“We need to apologise to the ground crew as it was the coldest day and night of the year,” said M’Shenda Turner, Senior Director, Survey and Geospatial Content Operations, Nearmap, ANZ.
“Clear skies though, so from my home desk with a warm cup of tea, I didn’t mind that so much,” said M’Shenda.
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The capture process began at 11:00am on Monday 29th July 2024 as the pilot flew a hatch-pattern across Canberra at 19,000 ft above sea level, completing flight plans in just-over 2.5 hours. The image above was taken (when safe to do so in flight) by the pilot.
After the imagery and data had been downloaded and processed at the Nearmap Sydney Barangaroo lab, the content was published in MapBrowser on Thursday 1st August 2024.
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Operations Manager at the National Arboretum Canberra, Amalie Shawcross explained that in addition to arborists and horticulturists working at ground level, the Arboretum also employs a digital-first approach, centred on aerial imagery and Geographic Information System (GIS) to extract data about the trees and assets – watch the interview below.
“Aerial imagery and location intelligence is such an important tool for us here at the Arboretum – it assists us in anything from counting trees and making sure that we’ve got our propagation schedules in place, right through to developing programs for mulching and where we need to head into the future.”
Amalie Shawcross, Operations Manager, National Arboretum Canberra.Daniel Paull, Executive Vice President and General Manager Nearmap ANZ, and his family are Canberrans, so Dan enthusiastically joined the Nearmap team on the ground to watch the survey flight from one of his favourite local mountain-biking locations – the National Arboretum Canberra offers more than 20km of paths, trails and tracks.
As he stood alongside the 45 m x 13 m logo on the ground, Dan shared his perspective on the best-in-class technology behind the capture. The survey flight overhead even captured the exact moment Dan was on camera being interviewed!
Check it out in the Nearmap oblique image shown near the start of this video:
Check it out in the Nearmap oblique image shown near the start of this video:
To see the Nearmap logo placement and explore the National Arboretum Canberra, view the survey in MapBrowser (please note: viewing in MapBrowser will consume imagery data allowance).
Nearmap began capturing aerial imagery and location intelligence data in the ACT in January 2010, with multiple surveys every year since telling continuing stories of development and progress, like the story of development and growth at the National Arboretum Canberra. From an aerial perspective, you can clearly see changes in landscaping, built infrastructure, and forest planting patterns across the 250-hectare site.
Ecological sustainability compliance and monitoring is one of the core metrics our customers can see and measure by using Nearmap. It’s also a key factor driving our work at Nearmap.
So the Nearmap banner was removed the same morning: rolled up and packed away leaving no trace. (Keep an eye out at future big-ticket events where the massive Nearmap logo may make an appearance!)
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The carefully planned future growth of the National Arboretum Canberra continues, and Nearmap looks forward to being part of the story as we capture its ongoing development.