** Please note: This app features data for Portland, Oregon only. Even if you arent in Portland, youre invited to take a look at our Heritage Trees, and come visit them (and us) sometime! **
Each year, the Portland City Council designates trees for Heritage Tree status, based on their age, size, type, historical association and/or horticultural value. There are currently 281 such trees, spread throughout the city: from Forest Park in the West Hills, to the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Old Town/Chinatown, out to Happy Valley and Powell Butte Nature Park in the east; from St. Johns and North Portland, to Sellwood and Reed College in the south. Thats a lot of territory to cover.
PDX Trees makes it easy to find and and enjoy them. With this app, you can:
* Search for nearby trees and see them on a map.
* Tap a pin to see the name and view details for that particular tree.
* Take and upload a photo of a Heritage Tree youre visiting.
* View photos of the tree taken by other tree enthusiasts.
* Email a friend about the tree (includes tree name and location where available)
* Read more about a type of tree from Wikipedia, without leaving the app.
Planning-your-visit mode: Not in Portland? No problem. If the app discovers you are out of the area, or cant determine your location accurately, it will start you off with a view of trees in downtown Portland. You can move the map around from there, and find trees to see on your next visit. Once you arrive in Portland, your location will appear on the map along with the trees, making it easier to get oriented.
Offline mode: All the tree data is stored on the phone, so you can still search for trees in an area and view the basic information about them, even if you dont have an internet connection. This means the app works on iPod Touch devices, even if you dont have a Wi-Fi connection while youre wandering through Portlands neighborhoods. (A few catches: You cant access photos or Wikipedia pages in offline mode, and you need to visit the region first with a network connection to get the underlying map imagery.)
The PDX Trees app is part of a larger project, with two goals:
1. To make it easier for citizens and visitors alike to find and enjoy these trees.
2. To build a set of images as a community that shows how Portland’s Heritage Trees change over the seasons and over the years, and to see these trees through each others’ eyes — and cameras.
Enjoy! And please let us know what you think!