Conservation Comes to Life at Glen Leven Farm

Skytec is equipped to support the ongoing data and mapping needs of land trusts. Company leaders recently partnered with The Land Trust for Tennessee to provide ongoing monitoring and mapping services to support The Land Trust’s historic Glen Leven Farm in Nashville, Tennessee.

Preserving State History

Located just four miles from the center of downtown Nashville, Glen Leven Farm is a 64-acre hidden gem. This conserved property showcases all aspects of the farm’s history dating back to the late 1700s, and today the historic, urban farm serves as a recreational and educational resource, as well as the offices for The Land Trust’s Middle Tennessee staff.

While some clients rely on Skytec’s acquisition tools to solely monitor natural resources, at Glen Leven Farm the team also evaluated the property’s historic buildings using LiDAR data acquired with an unmanned aerial system. According to The Land Trust for Tennessee, in 1790, six years before Tennessee became the 16th state, Thomas Thompson established Glen Leven Farm, and with the exception of two years, it remained in the Thompson family until 2006, when one of Thompson’s descendants gave the property to The Land Trust to protect.

The historic house, designed by Nashville architect A.E. Franklin, was constructed in 1857. This Federal-style building, likely made from bricks that were homemade on site, features a two-story Greek Revival-style portico with four fluted wooden columns topped with cast-iron Corinthian capitals. Additionally, the farm retained several domestic and agricultural outbuildings on the property. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

In addition to the historic structures and natural resources on the property, Glen Leven Farm also has agricultural spaces with gardens, an arboretum, and a bee sanctuary. This dynamic landscape showcases some of the organization’s conservation work, from managing streams and evaluating agricultural areas to protecting viewsheds.

Guiding Future Plans for the Farm

The mapping and imaging work Skytec completed creates a complete map in time of this historic site. Using unmanned LiDAR, the Skytec team captured and recreated a “digital twin” of the farm.

“The Land Trust team will use these data points for environmental management, including evaluating streams and buffer zones, while also creating a footprint of structures on the property,” says Andy Carroll, CTO of Skytec.

Luke Iverson, Conservation GIS Manager at The Land Trust for Tennessee, uses Skytec’s data to produce different maps of Glen Leven Farm, including for visitors and for the nonprofit’s future planning.

“I created a relative elevation model generated for the creek flowing through the property that will assist with our master planning process,” Iverson says. “Especially considering the recent flash flooding event in Nashville, this model will help us see areas that might get wetter as we work to enhance the property’s educational and agricultural uses over time. Having this detailed data really opens things up in terms of viewing and planning for the farm.”

With Skytec’s range of services, from macro-level satellite imaging and data analysis to micro-level LiDAR imaging, the company is capable of providing the highest level of data and imaging services to meet any client’s specific needs. For Glen Leven Farm and The Land Trust for Tennessee, Skytec’s imaging capabilities inform careful analyses that drive conservation work.

As Carroll says, “Skytec can provide tools and resources to clients to help track what we protect and value.” With greater tracking and data analysis capabilities, Skytec can best help clients as they face ever-increasing challenges and threats to natural and historically significant resources.

Read more about Skytec’s LiDAR work or contact us to learn more.