Plant info
- Plants for gardens
- Aboriginal bush foods
- Plant databases
- Plant conservation
- Pests & diseases
- Identifying plants
Herbarium volunteersMost volunteers in the Herbarium work in the specimen mounting program, mounting pressed plant specimens onto archival paper or assisting with the curating of those specimens. Other opportunities arise from time to time to work on scientific programs. Specimen mounting programRegular volunteers, most of whom belong to the Friends of The Gardens, mount plant specimens on archival paper. Outgoing loans and incoming fragile or vulnerable groups within the herbarium collection of pressed plants are given priority. Volunteers also assist in mounting seaweeds, lichens and mosses and determining the geographic coordinates of collected specimens. Some volunteers assist in the curation of particular groups of plants or the compilation of information for research projects in systematics and ecology. Others work with our Botanical Information Service staff to prepare specimens for inclusion into this reference collection and to check the accuracy of plant names. They may also assist with field work and with general maintenance of herbarium collections. The program of attaching Herbarium specimens to archival material was commenced in 1981, and given a boost in 1989 when a bequest from the late Eric Gordon enabled a project coordinator to be employed. In 1997/98 a team of 58 regular herbarium volunteers mounted 24,740 specimens on archival paper. A total of 1125 cryptogam specimens were also mounted, databased and packaged. This program continued throughout 1999 with 66 regular volunteers, mainly members of the Friends of The Gardens. Approximately 20 percent of the Herbarium collection is now mounted on archival paper. |
Register your interestRecruitment for specific programs occurs at different times of the year and any vacancies will be listed on this website as they arise. In the meantime we suggest you consider registering your interest with the Friends of The Gardens, our volunteer support organisation that is always looking for helpers. We also invite you to consider volunteering at Macarthur Centre for Sustainable Living. Go to www.mcsl.org.au and click on 'Get Involved' it will take you directly to volunteering opportunities.
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