A view for growth: the forest and the trees
Aug 2024
A visual timeline of the National Arboretum Canberra.
Every day our teams on the ground at Nearmap see new stories of change told through images captured by aircraft flying at up to 20,000 feet. (95% of Australia’s population is covered by Nearmap.)
Aug 2024
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Canberra, ACT AU
Along with stories of progress in fast-growing city developments, and sprawling infrastructure networks, we see stories of recovery and regeneration.
Recovery, in the rapid action enabled by the clarity and speed of our ImpactResponse post-disaster surveys, as towns and communities rebuild after floods, cyclones and bushfires.
And regeneration in stories of ecological sustainability – rarer stories that deserve close attention – right down to ground-level detail: 5.6cm–7.5cm GSD/ground sampling distance per pixel. (Pixels the size of playing cards.)
One of the stories of change that caught our eye, and our hearts, is the forward-thinking vision that is spurring growth at the National Arboretum Canberra.
The location, on the west side of Lake Burley Griffin, had long been the site of a pine (Pinus radiata) plantation, which was destroyed in the devastating 2003 Australian Capital Territory (ACT) bushfires.
As part of the recovery, the ACT government recognised an inspirational opportunity to honour architect Walter Burley Griffin’s original vision for Canberra, which included an arboretum in that location west of the lake.
Griffin and horticulturist Charles Weston originally used the site to test-plant potential Canberra street trees. More than a century later, two of those original plantings remain: Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara), and Portuguese cork oak (Quercus suber).
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Himalayan cedar
Cedrus deodara
The trees planted at the National Arboretum Canberra were carefully selected by experts including botanists, arborists, horticulturists, consultants, ecologists and taxonomists. The collection includes tree species selected for their conservation status, symbolic nature, aesthetic value and suitability for the site and climates. The site is also home to more than 30 threatened tree species.
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Portuguese cork oak
Quercus suber
A national design competition for the new arboretum led to the winning entry in 2005 by Taylor Cullity Lethlean Landscape Architects and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects: ‘100 Forests and 100 Gardens’.
Work began in 2005 under the close eye of Jon Stanhope, Former ACT Chief Minister (2001–2011). See more in the National Arboretum Canberra: A Twenty Year Story, courtesy of the Friends of the National Arboretum Canberra.
And when Nearmap began collecting imagery across the ACT in January 2010, major civil works were underway on the village centre, lookouts, amphitheatre and pavilion.
The team on the ground – architects, designers, engineers, construction crews – were all working towards a February 2013 opening date, an event that would ultimately welcome more than 15,000 people.
In the comparison image below, you can see the pace of work that was underway, in the six months between January 2010 (left) and July 2010 (right).
Part of the design for the arboretum and forests was its distinctive planting patterns. Over time through the frequency of our surveys, we’ve seen these patterns become clearer, with forests appearing in various formations including parallel lines at different angles, diamond or square grids, interlocking hexagons, and curved lines following contours.
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“From an aerial perspective, as the trees are growing, we’re starting to see those patterns come through and we’re starting to get that tapestry of colour and texture as well as the land formation. ”
Amalie ShawcrossOperations Manager, National Arboretum CanberraWith Nearmap imagery, it’s also possible to monitor seasonal variation over the years, with drought years and wet seasons standing out through the variation of brown and green colours covering the landscape.
The time lapse below shows a series of surveys taken from 2010 to 2013, tracking the construction of the Village Centre and part of the terraced Central Valley.
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As a unique place of beauty, education, recreation and conservation, the large-scale, long-term project of the National Arboretum Canberra is now one of the prime attractions in Canberra, recognised not only as one of the top 10 urban wonders to explore around Australia but also one of Australian Traveller’s Top 100 Aussie Wonders.
Coming soon – part two of this blog series will explore how the National Arboretum uses Nearmap today.