History of the Northern Ontario Plant Database
In April of 2001, several northern Ontario educational, government, industry, and ENGO organizations
agreed to cooperate in an Upper Great Lakes Plant Biosystematic Network in order to integrate regional
plant data. Funding of $125,000 over a 2-year period was secured from the Living Legacy Trust in May
of 2002, with an additional contribution of $12,000 cash and $123,000 in-kind support from the original
partners.
Prior to the start of this project, only the Claude Garton herbarium at Lakehead University had initiated a
database of their 105,000+ specimen collection. Information from northwestern Ontario (Kenora, Rainy River, and Thunder Bay Districts) had been entered, which constitutes nearly 25% of Lakehead's vascular
plant collection. Access was limited to a single computer with no internet capabilities. Collections housed
at the other partner universities and government institutions in northern Ontario had not been catalogued.
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