Starting October 20, the Herbarium will host a weekly workshop at the Garden. No need to register, just show up and join us from 9:30 am to 10:30 am every week! What will we be working on?
PHOTO PROJECT: We have assembled a large set of plant photographs that we’d like to include in floras and other flora tools like mobile apps. However, it’s not as simple as picking a photo of a plant to include – we’d really like to use the best photos available. We need to choose photos that show the leaf, fruit, stem/bark, and other key characteristics that vary by plant family. We need a team of people to find those photos then to tag each photo as to its quality and note which part of the plant is shown. If you like looking through lots of pretty plant photos, you’re just the person we need! We’ll provide the training and have staff on hand to answer questions as they work alongside you. Please bring the laptop computer, iPad, or tablet you are most comfortable using. (We will have a loaner computer available if you do not have a laptop/tablet.)
SEWING HERBARIUM SPECIMENS: In addition to gluing a plant to paper, most herbarium specimens require that plant parts be sewn to the herbarium paper. This is a low-tech, hands-on activity. No prior sewing experience needed. Herbarium specimens, needles, thread and training provided! This is an activity amenable to chatting while you work.
Once we’ve made good progress on these two projects, other activities will be added. Why have this at the Garden and not in the Herbarium in Coker Hall? The answer in one word: parking! Parking on campus is highly regulated, expensive, and the Herbarium has but a single visitor parking permit. Fortunately parking at the Garden is free and multiple volunteers can work simultaneously with multiple members of the Herbarium staff.
For our inaugural meeting on Thursday, October 20, we will gather in the library in the James & Delight Allen Education Center.