A workshop held 30 October – 1 November 2018 at Oak Spring Garden in Upperville, VA under the leadership of the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) addressed the future deployment of data held in U.S. biodiversity collections for research, policy and education. In their discussions, participants drew heavily on recent literature as well as surveys, meetings and workshops held over the past year with the stakeholder community of collections professionals, researchers, and educators.

A report derived from the workshop and stakeholder outreach is now available for public comment. The comment period will be open until 5:00 PM Eastern on 1 February 2019. Please send your comments to Dr. Barbara Thiers at bthiers@nybg.org.

A final version of the report will be issued in early February after user feedback is incorporated.

Download Report

For more information click here.

Research proposals are now being accepted for the 2019 Earl Core Student Research Award from the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. The award provides up to $1,200 in support of student research projects in plant taxonomy, systematics, or ecology. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply, but the student and advisor must be members of SABS to be considered. More details and the application can be found at http://sabs.us/awards/earl-core-student-research-award/. Proposals are due by February 28, 2019 to be considered. Awards will be announced in April.

Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens, and Science

Tuesday April 2 to Thursday April 4, 2019

Des Moines, Iowa

Hosts: World Food Prize Foundation and Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden

Prepare to kick-off visionary strategies and achieve far reaching targets when we bring together plant breeding and industry, public-garden based crop wild relative research, education, and outreach and germplasm repository communities! Sessions will address target lists and collections networks, conservation and breeding applications, food security, and social justice, all while inspiring scientists and educators to change the crop wild relative issue in our own backyards and globally! Receive tools for collaborations to bring cutting edge science into exhibits, build urban community inclusion through agriculture, address interpretation and engagement between universities and their gardens, and engage community youth in programs that actually lead to careers in agriculture, horticulture, or natural resource science.

Early Bird Registration deadline: Feb 15, 2019
Travel Award Application deadline: Jan 31, 2019

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, MO will be offering an NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer program in 2019. Ten students will be chosen to participate in a ten-week program involving full-time work on an independent research project, with the guidance of a staff mentor, in addition to educational seminars, discussion sessions and field trips.

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) is requesting input from the community on fundamental biological research questions and topics, specifically on the idea of creating “Integration Institutes for Cross-cutting Biology” to integrate diverse sub-disciplines of biology and support collaborative teams of researchers. NSF seeks ideas that span multiple levels of organization in living systems and require expertise from diverse biological subdisciplines.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2019. The Request for Information is available here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19027/nsf19027.jsp

Phipps Conservatory is currently accepting proposals for their Botany in Action (BIA) Fellowship program.

BIA fosters the development of the next generation of plant-based scientists who are committed, first, to excellent research, and second, to educational outreach. Open to Ph.D. students enrolled at U.S. graduate institutions and conducting plant-based scientific research, the program provides each fellow with:

1) $5,000 for use towards research-related expenses at sites in the U.S. or abroad,

2) an all-expenses-paid trip to Phipps to engage in science outreach training and opportunities to translate and communicate their research to non-scientific, public audiences through written, visual and/or oral means, and

3) subsequent opportunities to connect their research with the public through programs, exhibits and other outreach venues.

Click Here for more details.

All proposal materials must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on Fri., Jan. 11, 2019.