Our client, a Wisconsin-based non-profit foundation, formed a unique partnership with private industry and government agencies to perform oak savanna restoration on several large plots of land in the upper midwest. A savanna ecosystem consists of a mixture of scattered woods and grasslands. Several types of North American savannas have become rare, leading to the restoration effort undertaken by this partnership.
In addition to restoring oak savannas on a large scale, our client is performing research on the restoration areas. Huge amounts of data are being collected so members of the partnership can better understand savannas and how to keep them healthy. In order to be most useful, this data must be shared with the members of the partnership. Since the members of the partnership
come from widely varying backgrounds, it’s extremely important to make the data sharing as easy to use as possible.
Irish Rose Consulting worked closely with the client to design and implement a web-based reporting system for the savanna data. We focused on making the system easy to use, allowing users to pick data plots from a list of all available plots. Data is summarized at higher levels, eventually allowing users to drill-down into more detailed data. Photos were also incorporated into the database to allow users to view actual conditions in the restoration areas, often displaying both before and after photos. This database system was seamlessly integrated with the client’s existing web site.
This project is a fine example of using the power of the web to collaborate with a geographically dispersed group of people. Updated data can be instantly provided to all users with no additional effort.
Technologies Used