NCGS site-assessment questions
The fieldworker form for scoring the suitability criteria and filing a determination.
What it captures
Questions
Site assessment record
- Where will the water for the trees come from?
- The main water source the caretaker will use for the trees. If none fits, choose Other and give the source in the next question.
- Help: Pick the main source the caretaker will use. A tank filled from a tap counts as Municipal tap. Choose Not watered if there is none.
- Choices: NCGS Water Sources: Municipal tap, Borehole, Rainwater tank, Tank filled by truck, Household greywater, River, dam or stream, Not watered, Other
- What other water source is used?
- Only if the answer was Other: the water source, in the respondent’s words.
- Help: Complete only if you selected Other for the water source. Record the source in the respondent’s own words, using at least two characters.
- How far is the water from where trees would go? (m)
- Distance in metres from the water source to where trees would go.
- Help: Pace or estimate the distance to the tap, tank or borehole the caretaker will use.
- About how many trees does this site have room for?
- How many trees the site has room for, as seen on the visit.
- Help: Count spots with room for a full-grown tree, clear of buildings, paving and power lines.
- Is the planting area in a frost pocket, where frost is worse than nearby?
- Whether the planting area is a local frost pocket.
- Help: A hollow or low spot, or ground with a wall, bank or hedge below it that traps cold air. Look for frost damage on grass or shrubs worse here than around it.
- Are all the planting spots inside the site’s own property?
- Whether every planting spot lies on the site’s own property.
- Help: Answer no if any spot is on a road reserve, a servitude (such as under power lines or over pipes) or a neighbour’s land.
- What signs of unstable or contaminated ground can you see in the planting area?
- Signs of unstable or contaminated ground where the trees would go.
- Help: Tick all that apply, or None seen. Look for cracks, sinking ground, dumped fill, ash or oily, stained soil.
- Choices: NCGS Ground Hazards: Cracks in the ground, Depressions, Mine-related subsidence, Deep or uncontrolled fill, Ash or slag, Unusual soil discolouration, Suspected contaminated fill, None seen
- What are the trees at this site intended to provide?
- What the planting at this site is for.
- Help: Tick all that apply.
- Choices: NCGS Species Functions: Fruit, Shade, Windbreak, Nutrient recycling, Ornamental, Medicinal
- What is the shortest distance from a planting spot to where children play or walk? (m)
- The shortest distance from the planting area to where children play or walk, so thorny or poisonous species are kept away.
- Help: Pace to the nearest play area, sports field, assembly point or path. Thorny or poisonous trees are not planted within 10 m.
- Take close-ups of the ground cover.
- Close-ups of the ground cover, each with its location: at least two when planting is withheld on ecological grounds.
- Help: Only if planting will be withheld on ecological grounds: at least two close-ups of the ground cover, with location turned on. Use the camera, not the gallery. The site photos go with the site’s own photos.
- Score the site on each of the eight criteria. (required)
- One score per suitability criterion: water, caretaker, security, soil and ground, space and services, access, land cover and biome, ecological appropriateness.
- Help: Six ask whether a tree can survive here (water, caretaker, security, soil, space, access). Two ask whether trees should be planted here at all (land cover and biome, ecological appropriateness). Take a photo for each.
- Site-suitability result from the criterion scores (calculated)
- The site’s result as worked out from the scores; not typed.
- Help: Calculated from your scores; nothing to answer. No result until each of the eight criteria is scored exactly once as met or not met. Then: either ecological criterion not met gives withheld on ecological grounds; any of the six survival criteria not met gives suitable with conditions if you name a condition, otherwise unsuitable, remediable; all eight met gives suitable.
- Choices: NCGS Suitability Determinations: Suitable, Suitable with conditions, Unsuitable, remediable, Withheld on ecological grounds, Deferred, pending agreement
- What is the final site-suitability determination you are filing? (required)
- The result you file. Normally the one from the scores; a supervisor may file a different one with a reason.
- Help: Normally the same as the result from your scores. Only a supervisor may choose a different one, and must give a reason. Withheld on ecological grounds is a success of the programme, not a failure of the site.
- Choices: NCGS Suitability Determinations: Suitable, Suitable with conditions, Unsuitable, remediable, Withheld on ecological grounds, Deferred, pending agreement
- Why does your final suitability determination differ from the calculated result?
- Needed when the final result differs from the result from the scores.
- Help: Supervisors only. Say what you saw that the scores did not capture. The safeguard reviewer reads this.
- What evidence supports your final site-suitability determination?
- The reason for the result.
- Help: Needed when planting is withheld on ecological grounds: describe the intact grassland, wetland or riverbank you found. Helpful for every other result.
- What must be done before trees can be planted?
- A condition to meet before planting. At least one for suitable with conditions.
- Help: For suitable with conditions: one concrete condition per entry, such as the school appointing a caretaker or fixing the fence on the road side. Planting waits until each is met.
- Record each spot where you propose to plant a tree.
- Each spot where you propose a tree, with what the ground shows there. Signs of waterlogging or a hollow flag the spot for safeguard review (#130).
- Help: Add each spot where you propose a tree. Wet ground or a hollow flags the spot for a safeguard review.
Evidence item
- What this item is: a close-up of the ground cover (fixed by the form). (required)
- What this item is: ground-cover-photo, fixed by the instrument.
- Help: The form fixes this; nothing to answer.
- Choices: NCGS Evidence Types: Ground-cover photograph
- Take the photo. (required)
- The photo, kept by its content address.
- Help: Use the camera.
- Photo latitude (from the photo)
- Latitude of the place the photograph was taken, as recorded with it.
- Help: Filled in from the location you capture after the photo.
- Photo longitude (from the photo)
- Longitude of the place the photograph was taken, as recorded with it.
- Help: Filled in from the location you capture after the photo.
Criterion score
- Which criterion are you scoring? (required)
- Which criterion this score is for.
- Help: Score all eight, one at a time. Water: water close enough to carry, and someone named to water. Caretaker: a named steward or owner who takes responsibility. Security: safe from livestock, vehicles, vandalism and fire. Soil and ground: deep and drained enough, not rubble or paving. Space and services: room for the grown tree, clear of power lines, pipes and buildings. Access: can be reached in every season. Land cover and biome: not intact natural grassland, wetland or riverbank. Ecological appropriateness: planting here does no harm, and local species are available.
- Choices: NCGS Suitability Criteria: Water, Caretaker, Security, Soil and ground, Space and services, Access, Land cover and biome, Ecological appropriateness
- Does the site meet this criterion? (required)
- Met, not met, or unknown if it could not be established.
- Help: Choose Unknown if you could not find out on this visit. Unknown stops the site’s result until it is resolved.
- Choices: NCGS Criterion Values: Met, Not met, Unknown
- What did you observe or learn about this suitability criterion?
- What you saw or were told.
- Help: One sentence. For land cover and biome, say what grows there and how damaged it is.
- Take photos for this criterion. (required)
- Photos for this criterion; at least one.
- Help: At least one new photo of what you scored. Ground-cover close-ups for a withheld site go in their own question, not here.
Evidence item
- What does this photo or document show? (required)
- What this photo or document is. Each form’s own rules say which types it needs.
- Help: Pick one for each file you add.
- Choices: NCGS Evidence Types: Site photograph, Tree photograph, Ground-cover photograph, Stock photograph, Nursery delivery note, Recipient acknowledgement, Attendance register, Site agreement, On-screen signature, Recorded consent, Agreement notice, Interview notes, Report, Ledger export
- Scan the QR sticker you put on the document.
- The UUID on the QR sticker put on a paper document, so the office’s later scan can be linked to this photo.
- Help: Only for a document: stick a new QR sticker on its first page before you photograph it. The office scans the whole document later.
- Take the photo. (required)
- The photo, kept by its content address.
- Help: Use the camera. For a document, photograph its first page with its QR sticker showing.
- Photo latitude (from the photo)
- Latitude of the place the photograph was taken, as recorded with it.
- Help: Filled in from the location you capture after the photo.
- Photo longitude (from the photo)
- Longitude of the place the photograph was taken, as recorded with it.
- Help: Filled in from the location you capture after the photo.
Proposed planting point
- What is the latitude of this proposed planting spot? (decimal degrees)
- Latitude of the spot.
- Help: Stand on the proposed spot and capture its position. Southern latitudes are negative.
- What is the longitude of this proposed planting spot? (decimal degrees)
- Longitude of the spot.
- Help: Capture it together with the latitude, at the same proposed spot.
- Are there signs of poor drainage or waterlogging at this spot? (required)
- Whether the ground at the spot shows signs of poor drainage or waterlogging.
- Help: Standing water after rain, grey or mottled soil, or reeds and sedges.
- Which signs of poor drainage or waterlogging are present at this spot?
- Only if there are signs: each indicator you see.
- Help: Select all that apply.
- Choices: NCGS Waterlogging Indicators: Standing water after rainfall, Grey or gleyed soil, Extensive soil mottling, Wetland vegetation, Another sign
- What other sign of poor drainage or waterlogging did you see?
- Only if you saw another sign: what it was.
- Help: Describe the sign you selected as Another sign, using at least two characters.
- Where is this proposed planting spot on the slope or surrounding ground?
- Where the spot lies in the landscape.
- Help: A hollow collects water and cold air; it flags the spot for a safeguard review.
- Choices: NCGS Landscape Positions: Ridge or upper slope, Mid-slope, Flat ground, Lower slope, Hollow or depression