Section of Botany - Friends of Botany

CMNH - Section of Botany

~Friends of Botany~

We are currently organizing The Friends of Botany (CM) to increase the awareness of Carnegie Museum Section of Botany and its resources. Since we are open 5 days a week, we need to get the word out that CM has the best representative collections of Western Pennsylvania vascular flora. One way we are increasing our role in this process is by guest speaking to others interested in knowing more about what we do. If you are interested in a tour or lecture for a group then please contact us.

The Friends is a way in which we can also generate interest for a volunteer program and for raising funds to help manage and improve the Section. Raising funds for the Section is difficult because frequently this resource is taken for granted. We are constantly trying to improve, basically to make it a better resource for us all. Numerous opportunities for improvement exist. However, to realize these improvements funds are needed.

Some examples of current and planned projects are:

1. Curation (Maintenance) of the collection which includes:

a) Sorting, labeling, mounting, accessioning, repairing and filing specimens into cabinets; labeling folders and cabinets, photographing special specimens, and developing a DNA repository for rare and endangered plants. Help is needed in looking over the special collections as well as handling gifts, loans and exchanges.

b) Moving the collection to better facilities: new cabinets and compactors within a temperature controlled room.

2. Records. Creating and maintaining a database for herbarium records accessible and query able via the internet. This information allows patrons to search for habitat, range, ecology and other information on any of the genera and species in our collection.

3. Publicity. Maintaining the herbarium web page and news release.

4. Collecting specimens. Additional specimens need to be collected from unexplored or under collected areas of the state.

5. Phylogenetics using DNA and morphological (plant features) information to classify and model ecological, biochemical among many other applied features in a repeatable way.

We believe that these and other projects will help make the herbarium collection even more useful and convenient to patrons in Pennsylvania and around the world. By joining The Friends you will help us achieve these goals.

If you decide to support the herbarium by joining The Friends, just print out the membership form included below and send it in with your pledge to the address given.

Currently we have volunteer opportunities available. Help is needed in mounting dried plant specimens, typing specimen labels, filing, entering information into our database system, and maintaining and creating material for our web page. Individuals with basic computer skills and/or an interest in botany would be most welcome. The experience gained would be helpful for careers in resource management, botany, conservation, museum science and natural history.

If you would like to know of other ways you could support the herbarium, or just want more information, feel free to contact us at the sources given below:

Associate Curator:
Cynthia M. Morton; mortonc@CarnegieMNH.org.

Or

Collection Manager:
Bonnie Isaac; isaacb@CarnegieMNH.org.

Phone: (412) 622-3253
Fax: (412) 688-8670

If you would like to join the Friends of Botany, please fill out and send in the form below to the Curator at:

Section of Botany
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080

Yes, I would like to become a member of the Friends of Botany (CM)!

Enclosed please find my membership fee of: (Please make check to: CMNH - Section of Botany)

_____ $25/year Regular Membership

_____ $40/year Family Membership

Name: __________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

Phone: __________________________________________________

E-mail: __________________________________________________

______ I would like to make an additional donation to the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History Section of Botany in the amount of:___________