Create a Google My Map

If you update a master list of Trees, for example the Trees in Place spreadsheet, you will also need to update the Google My Map (and Google Earth Map as well).

Also often you have a list of new trees that you need to determine the exact location of. It is useful to be able to import this spreadsheet into a Google My Map. This procedure explains how to create a Google My Map.

Create a Google My Map

Create a spreadsheet with columns for the data, especially including Latitude and Longitude. If you are going to use a spreadsheet on your computer, it must be in one of the following formats, CSV, XLSX or Google Sheets. Ideally for arboretum record keeping, the spreadsheet should be on the Google Drive in Google Sheets format.
Make sure that you are signed into the Google account that you are going to use.
Go to the Google My Maps webpage. Make sure that you are signed in to the Google account that you are going to use.
At the top left, click on CREATE A NEW MAP
In the title area where it says "untitled map" type in a title, Trees, or something similar. While doing this you will also see a Description field. You can add relevant information here, for example the date when this map was created or who is doing it. Click Save. (Adding a title and description could also be done later.)
In the box titled "Untitled layer," click on Import.
A popup box labeled "Choose a file to import will appear. The first choice is Upload. Click on this if your Trees spreadsheet is on your computer. If you have the spreadsheet on your Google Drive (recommended), click on Google Drive and navigate to the folder holding the file then click to open it.
Once you have selected the spreadsheet a pop up box will appear, Choose columns to position your placemarks. If you have labeled the colums with location data Latitude and Longitude, they will be checked. If so click on Continue. If your columns are not labeled Latitude and Longitude, then click on the correct columns so My Map will know which to use.
Next you will see a pop up box that says Choose a column to title your markers. This could be whatever you want, but the Tree Number is unique to each tree, so that is useful to identify it, but you could also use Common Name.
In the map description box, click on Base map at the bottom of the box. The Satellite view is the most useful one for our purposes, so click on that.
You can now zoom in on the map to verify individual trees.

Click on CREATE A NEW MAP

Add a Title and a Description, then click Save.

Click on Import

Click on the file that you want to show in the map. In this case, Medford Campus Trees - Trees in Place.

Verify that proper Latitude and Longitude boxes are checked, then click Continue.

Choose what to use for title of each item on the map.

Select Satellite Base map.

The final prodfuct - a satellite map showing the location of all the trees in the database.

Page updated

Report abuse