Botanical workshop held at the Herbarium
On Monday 2 October 2023 the Office of the Supervising Scientist (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) held a botanical workshop with its colleagues from Environmental Resources Australia and Kakadu Native Plants, made possible by the Northern Territory Herbarium (DEPWS), Palmerston.
The aim of the workshop was to foster relationships between participants, knowledge of the Northern Terrritory (NT)’s plants, and a better understanding of the role the Herbarium plays in the naming, identification and management of plants – all while having fun along the way!
The day started with an introductory tour by the Herbarium team highlighting the invaluable resource that the collection of almost 290,000 plant specimens held in the facility provides for natural resource managers, conducting a tour of the facility, inducting the participants into the plant hygiene process associated with using the facility.
Core to the success of the workshop was reinforcing the value of collecting and recording quality plant specimens to underpin the research of species establishment and ecosystem rehabilitation programs undertaken by all organisations involved. This was achieved through a fun day of collaborative learning and activities. After the introductory tour, we talked about the equipment, processes and data management required to collect quality plant specimens, then we went outside to collect and press native and cultivated plants of all lifeforms. After lunch, we ran through key features to identify Families using a hand lens and then looked at pressed specimens of the Herbarium’s reference collection using the ID room microscopes.
Jenni Risler and Mark Gardener led activities and were joined by Herbarium staff and associates (Kym Brennan) who generously shared their immense botanical and historical knowledge of the ecosystems on and surrounding the Ranger mine in Jabiru.
As a result of the success of the workshop, the Office of the Supervising Scientist has indicated that it would like to establish ongoing half day plant identification activities at the Herbarium and on site to foster the knowledge and collection of plants from the Ranger Project Area and surrounds.
Thanks again to all the participants on the day who contributed to it being such a success!
Participants:
Delise, Swade, Lillli, Shane and Dylan (Kakadu Native Plant Supplies)
Meg, Lucia and Jolene (Energy Resources Australia)
Jenni, Mark, Al and Chris (Office of the Supervising Scientist)
Nick, Lou, Aiden, Richard and Kym (Herbarium (DEPWS)
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