Make your own plant books

Make your own plant books - a World First for On-line Publishing

Kiwi plant lovers can now instantly create their own personalised plant book, thanks to an innovative online publishing system just launched by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.

“Make-your-own plant book” works by automatically harvesting information and images from the Plant Network’s website (http://www.nzpcn.org.nz). Website users select any combination of native or exotic plant species to include in their own personalised book. They then select a cover type, write their own title, choose a species to feature on the cover, write their own introduction or select a pre-written one.

This innovative conservation initiative, believed to be a world first, establishes the Plant Network as a leader in the provision of information about New Zealand’s natural world.

“For gardeners, farmers, government agencies, community restoration groups and botanists, this new book making system will be a revelation” said Network President Philippa Crisp. “Whether you want to make a book about cabbage trees or cabbages, kowhai or kiwifruit, podocarps or pine trees, or even a book about the plants in your own back garden, this system enables the user to do just that.

“New Zealand has unique plant life which we all love. Educating people about these amazing plants is a key priority for the Network” said Crisp.

Every plant in New Zealand, including the Chatham Island forget-me-not, the towering iconic kauri and the vegetable sheep that live on New Zealand's mountain tops, can be included, Philippa Crisp said.

"Whatever plant you want to include in your book, we’ve got it!”

As the model of traditional book production and distribution begins to change worldwide, the Plant Conservation Network is offering a new way to create and use on-line content. The “Make-your-own plant book” system can be used to create an infinite number of books.

This project has been in development for two years and uses information stored on the website of the Plant Conservation Network - a primary reference point for those interested in New Zealand’s native or exotic plants which receives more than 10 million hits annually. It holds information about all New Zealand plants with more than 23,000 images and 6,500 species pages.

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