OUTREACH
We broaden the impact of our research through three major venues.
Since 2016, volunteers from around the world have transcribed label data from over 75,000 herbarium specimens for research via Plants of Virginia expeditions hosted on the online platform, Notes from Nature. This outreach was made possible by a National Science Foundation research grant (EF-1410086), which funded the digitization of 11 Virginia herbaria.
PUBLIC TOURS, WORKSHOPS & LECTURES
The University herbarium (GMUF/LFCC), which is the third-largest in Virginia, hosts about 50 non-research visitors per year on tours and workshops.
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In collaboration with GMU-TV production services, Matthew Sheik and I created two publicly available outreach videos about the GMUF/LFCC herbarium: An introduction to the George Mason University Herbarium and How herbarium specimens are curated for global research.
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Most recently, I've been sharing the life-story of Lena Artz, a mid 20th c. pioneering botanist of the Massanutten Mountains, with regional historical societies.
FLORA OF VIRGINIA PROJECT
In 2022, I joined the board of the Flora of Virginia to help advance their mission to "inspire conservation of Virginia’s native flora through education, outreach, and production of the Flora of Virginia in electronic and print formats."