Small Collections Grant
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White Feather Farm Digital Herbarium: Preserving 2025's Native Plant Collection
USA
Database
Cost (USD):
2000
WFF
White Feather Farm
Objective:
To advance WFF’s digital herbarium by systematically documenting and digitizing our 2025 plant collection. Led by our Herbarium Project Lead/Lead Gardener and Communications Manager, this project will enhance our existing digital platform through professional specimen photography, detailed taxonomic documentation, and improved specimen metadata. The project will specifically focus on cataloging new additions to our collection, emphasizing native plants of the Hudson Valley region. This effort will increase accessibility to our collection for students, researchers, and community members.
Timetable:
White Feather Farm's 2025 herbarium collection and digitization project will follow the natural growing season:
PHASE 1: Collection Preparation (May-June 2025)
Finalize 2025 collection protocols and documentation standards
Prepare collection materials and photography equipment
Train any new team members on specimen collection procedures
Review digital platform requirements for 2025 specimens
PHASE 2: Active Collection Period (June-September 2025)
Collect and press specimens throughout growing season
Document initial field data including GPS coordinates, habitat information
Photograph specimens in situ when appropriate
Begin preliminary taxonomic verification
PHASE 3: Specimen Processing (September-December 2025)
Complete specimen mounting and preservation
Conduct final taxonomic verification
Create professional specimen photographs
Compile complete botanical documentation and ecological context
PHASE 4: Digital Integration (December 2025-February 2026)
Upload all 2025 specimens to digital platform
Input comprehensive specimen data
Conduct quality control reviews
Begin sharing new specimens through existing social media channels
Scoring Rubric
Reviewer's name:
Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)
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Facilitating access to the physical collections by digitization (e.g., data entry, setting up database structure with an outline of the platform to be used, purchasing equipment, and imaging specimens) – up to 30 points.
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Enhancing physical collections by improving the conservation status of specimens in the herbarium (e.g., better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) – up to 30 points.
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Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
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Increasing our understanding of the flora or funga by making new herbarium specimens available, such as processing of backlog or collecting and mounting of new specimens from understudied sites – up to 20 points.
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Securing collections by distribution of duplicates (or orphan collections) to other regional or international herbaria or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium – up to 20 points.
This proposal scores:
/120
Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)
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Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.
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Perceived need, the extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding: e.g., due to active floristic work or contribution to poorly collected sites, due to threatened conditions of collections, and for the degree of involvement of others (outreach and education). We give more points for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries – up to 20 points.
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Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)
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Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.
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The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
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The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Year of last successful SCG application:
Has applicant applied for SCG before?:
Plan:
White Feather Farm's herbarium currently documents our diverse collection of native, naturalized, and invasive plants from our 66-acre property, encompassing woods, wetlands, pond systems, merging tributaries, and organic farm fields. While our existing digital catalog includes basic specimen photos with taxonomic information, we are transitioning to a more comprehensive documentation system. This grant will support the documentation of our 2025 specimen collections using this enhanced approach.
For each new specimen collected in 2025, we will implement professional-grade photography and create detailed digital records that include precise collection dates and locations, complete taxonomic classifications, habitat descriptions and ecological contexts, traditional ecological knowledge when applicable, contemporary uses and regional significance, and high-resolution, properly lit specimen photographs.
This targeted approach for our 2025 collections will expand our broader digitization efforts. Our Herbarium Project Lead will oversee specimen documentation and taxonomic verification, while our Communications Manager will ensure proper digital integration of the new records. This systematic approach to our 2025 collections will allow us to test and refine our new documentation protocols, setting a standard for future digital preservation of our entire collection.
Institution:
IH Code:
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Applicant First Name/s:
email:
"Other" target:
Kris Garnier
Applicant Last Name/s: