Supporting botanical collections II. 

Helen Cleal volunteering at NMW.
Image: T. Rich.

Delighted to report that, over the past few days, I have been inundated with emails and photos showing how BSBI members are using, volunteering in and otherwise supporting their local herbaria!  

Several people have been in touch from Wales. Tim Rich sent this photo of one of his herbarium volunteers at NMW National Museum of Wales, which houses more than 250,000 specimens and welcomes volunteer curators. 

Paul Green (on right) at the Polypodium field meeting.
Image: Ceri Gait 2013. 

Acting Welsh Officer Paul Green uses the NMW herbarium a lot for his work. He told me, "I often check the specimens before I go out to survey a rare Welsh species to see if any extra info on the sheet can help me find the plant." 

Paul added, "I used the Polypodium specimens when I ran a workshop for the BSBI in March at the National Museum Wales." I was sorry I couldn't make it to that workshop, but hear it was very successful. One of the participants took these photographs of the workshop (below) and the follow-up field meeting (on right). 

Details of this year's workshops and training meetings will be up on the Meetings page this winter, but we will have a print-out listing all our 2014 meetings ready for you to take away at the AEM in November.

Polypodium Workshop 2013.
Image: Ceri Gait.

And Sarah Stille, VCR for Merioneth, has sent me her list of forthcoming training and recording meetings in Wales, including a proposed workshop at NMW in autumn 2014. Sarah's excellent Blog has details of what she is up to, or you can contact her (and other VCRs) via the email links on the Local Groups page. 

Sarah has been a longtime supporter of herbaria in general and BSBI's Herbaria@Home project in particular. She gave a presentation on the subject at the AEM 2010 and, at Meetings Committee the other week, Sarah agreed to offer a poster on H@H at this year's AEM. Please get in touch with me at publicity@bsbi.org.uk if you would also like to offer a poster at the AEM on how you use and support your local herbarium.