NSF Award
1908728
Natural history collections at universities across the United States were built over time by researchers, professors, and students, and they often are the best scientific representation of regional biodiversity for the surrounding areas. Despite the research value, some of these collections are in distress due to lack of local institutional support. One approach for raising awareness and support for the research and education value of campus collections is a student-led Natural History Collections Club (NHCC). Since 2013, several clubs have formed based on the NHCC model to train the next generation of undergraduate students in biological collections methods and management; and to raise awareness, increase scientific and educational use, of their campus natural history collections. These clubs collectively form the Natural History Collections Club Network (NHCCN). The Network has hosted workshops at international and regional meetings to encourage other groups to take up the NHCC model on their campuses and to start a student club and become part of the NHCCN. Through this award, workshop activities are planned that recruit and educate interested students and faculty advisors to develop a NHCC, strengthen the existing network, and support participation in existing NHCCs. <br/><br/>A 2019 workshop will take place during a full day of the annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), which meets May 26-31. The workshop agenda includes training and discussion on topics such as natural history collections documentation, specimen digitization, and experiential learning. Invitations for workshops will target institutions that may benefit most from joining the NHCCN, such as those that have expressed interest in improving student involvement in collections, particularly institutions with small collections and institutions with minority-serving emphases such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Universities with small natural history collections often contain many records of their surrounding ecosystems not duplicated in larger facilities and therefore provide unique representation of biological diversity to national and global data resources. The support provided through this award represents a cost-efficient way to ensure the maintenance, expansion, and data sharing of participating collections by involving students and recruiting participants from small collections that are committed to the success and sustainability of those collections. A link to the workshop announcement is available on the web (https://www.idigbio.org/content/spnhc-travel-grants-nhccn).<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
