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| University of Leicester Herbarium volunteers Image: L. Marsh |
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| Herbarium sheet exhibited at Birdfair. Image: R. Benskin |
More info here, with a programme listing all the speakers and subjects. Looks like a really interesting mixture, and apparently Tom Humphrey is also offering a poster on Herbaria@Home!
Sue said "I have been part of the Taxonomy and Systematics Committee, and a repeated cry was that museums are suffering from lack of curators, and collections are coming under more and more pressure. This is an opportunity to make the case that collections and type specimens play a vital role in recording."
Yes, Sue, I agree. Geoffrey Hall and I gave a talk to the BSBI AEM last November on this very subject, called 'Herbarium collections under threat: how should BSBI respond nationally and can local BSBI groups help?'
Every herbarium sheet has a story behind it, as well as being a valuable scientific resource. The sheet in the image (above left) shows one such example, with its all-important label (above) stating where, when and by whom the specimen was found.
And those of you who watched the recent video about New Journal of Botany will have heard Richard Gornall explain how much he relies on herbarium volunteers in his role as Curator of the collection (LTR) at University of Leicester.
With cutbacks biting, herbarium collections are in a precarious situation, so maybe this is the time for botanists to go that extra mile and actively support local herbaria this autumn.
Sue said "I have been part of the Taxonomy and Systematics Committee, and a repeated cry was that museums are suffering from lack of curators, and collections are coming under more and more pressure. This is an opportunity to make the case that collections and type specimens play a vital role in recording."
Yes, Sue, I agree. Geoffrey Hall and I gave a talk to the BSBI AEM last November on this very subject, called 'Herbarium collections under threat: how should BSBI respond nationally and can local BSBI groups help?' You can see the abstract here and the slides here: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/jds/cnhs/herbaria.pdf
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| LTR herbarium volunteer demonstrates mounting to botany students. Image: L. Marsh |
Every herbarium sheet has a story behind it, as well as being a valuable scientific resource. The sheet in the image (above left) shows one such example, with its all-important label (above) stating where, when and by whom the specimen was found.
And those of you who watched the recent video about New Journal of Botany will have heard Richard Gornall explain how much he relies on herbarium volunteers in his role as Curator of the collection (LTR) at University of Leicester.
With cutbacks biting, herbarium collections are in a precarious situation, so maybe this is the time for botanists to go that extra mile and actively support local herbaria this autumn.
Has Sue dropped out of the Training and Education Committee?
ReplyDeleteNo, Peter, Sue is still on T&E but has recently joined Meetings & Communications Committee too. If I'd tried to list all the committees and working groups on which she sits in one Blogpost, I doubt there would be much room left to talk about herbaria! This contribution came from Sue wearing her M&C hat, rather than her T&E bonnet :-)
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