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by Wynne Whyman, Stan Mael, and Mary Kunkel
Long-range planning and facilities management are important
parts of maintaining camp assets and building a better community environment
for staff and campers alike. Collaborating with a professional architectural
and planning group can help camps learn more about their property, which
will aid them in planning for the future and optimizing the use of their
facility.
The Girl Scouts-Wagon Wheel Council (GSWWC) in central
Colorado recently worked with Higginbotham/Briggs and Associates (HB&A),
an award-winning planning, architecture and information technology firm
headquartered in Colorado Springs, to do just that. The group’s expertise
in land development, infrastructure analysis, mapping, and computer-aided
information systems provided the background that GSWWC needed for the
project.
The council was interested in producing an integrated
ten-year development plan for all its properties. To adequately plan for
future development, they needed a map showing all sites and a detailed
site map of the 880-acre Sky High Ranch in Woodland Park. An HB&A
staffer familiar with GSWWC and the ranch supervised the project.
Data Collection a Group Effort
The first goal, then, was to provide an accurate, comprehensive
map of the Sky High Ranch and its interrelated features. As would be expected
with most public agency camps, data needed for the project existed in
a variety of formats and locations, including in the heads of the long-time
members. Although more than thirty maps existed for the ranch, including
non-electronic maps, hand-drawn maps, and architectural blueprints from
various projects, no one map displayed all the features of camp. Maps
were collected from the council’s archives and loaned to HB&A.
To enhance the mapping process, GSWWC gathered other
data, including historic documents, flood plain and utility maps, forest
service data, aerial photographs, and topography maps. In addition, senior
high school girls, as well as some adults, volunteered to measure the
areas that had no maps, such as cabins built by volunteers and fences
built to enclose specific areas. One volunteer used a Global Positioning
System (GPS) instrument to measure remote sites. The riding staff determined
the most frequently used horse trails and ones which should be discontinued,
and the ranch’s site manager verified waterline locations. On more than
one occasion, the maps in progress were displayed to solicit information
from volunteers throughout the council.
Computerized Maps Allow Easy Access to
Data
HB&A worked closely with GSWWC to ensure the council’s
needs were incorporated into the product. The firm prepared twenty-four
11-by-17-inch maps in hard copy form, with the data residing in an ArcView
GIS computer program. The maps generated included a complete base map
and featured items such as horse/hiking trails, utilities, constraints
and opportunities, existing and future land use, fire evacuation routes,
topography, slopes and drainage, transportation, regional and vicinity
maps, and proposed development sites.
HB&A also developed a customized application which
allows the council to access any or all of the information in multiple
combinations for analysis of viewsheds, facilities use and maintenance,
potential trails, building and camping sites, program sites, and projected
use areas. A volunteer designed a relational database that linked into
the computerized mapping. This allows the user to click on a particular
site, view pictures(s) of the area, and view the maintenance records.
Long-term Benefits Are Many
The mapping dimension was invaluable to the long-range
property planning for the site. By assessing constraints and opportunities
for future development, such as proximity of utilities, summer/winter
facilities, tree density, and slopes, the council is able to make informed
choices regarding wintertime use, program sites, and site usage. GSWWC
now has the tools to evaluate and plan for the property from an integrated
site development perspective — visually complementing the normal program
and administrative perspectives. The map analysis helped the council understand
the land (e.g., 12 percent of the property has slopes under 12 percent),
articulate and color code the land use areas on the property (horses,
maintenance, living areas, program), and create a system for a permanent
collection of information about the property.
The maps and software also enable the council to:
- provide a degree of accuracy and access never
before experienced for analyzing potential development sites, assessing
facility conditions, determining fire evacuation routes, developing
detailed maps for troop outings, and updating mapping information
as the property changes.
- facilitate presentations for fund development
plans.
- provide a tool for keeping up-to-date property
maintenance schedules.
By collaborating with others, professionals and volunteers,
GSWWC enhanced their site planning. The combined efforts of many have
provided a foundation for the future.
Originally published in the 1999 September/October
issue of Camping Magazine. |
