EcoFlora Farewell For Now
Dear Neighborhood Naturalists,
As some of you may know, the EcoFlora program was developed by the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to promote (1) biodiversity conservation in an increasingly urbanized world, (2) greater plant awareness among the public and (3) enhanced participation of community scientists in the study and conservation of biodiversity. The program launched in 2016 and saw great success! So much so that NYBG, in collaboration with four other botanical gardens, received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to scale up the EcoFlora program across the country.
The Metro Phoenix EcoFlora project began in February 2020 with funding from this grant to continue through October 2022. The past few years have been a wonderful experience, from building the project and sharing the wonders of urban biodiversity together, to creating species lists and publishing papers and everything in between.
For the time being, the Metro Phoenix EcoFlora is on pause while a new way forward is being navigated. You may contact Dr. Kim McCue at Desert Botanical Garden at kmccue@dbg.org for project updates and information.
Thank you to every project collaborator, Volunteers in the Garden (VIGs), and the Research and Conservation staff and Marketing Communications team at Desert Botanical Garden.
I know I've said this hundreds of times but thank you, Neighborhood Naturalists, for making the Metro Phoenix EcoFlora such a wonderful project. Without question, it would not be what it is without you! Be sure to check out the project summary and a new community science opportunity.
I would love to stay in touch and can be reached at jdavisdbg@gmail.com.
With so much gratitude and affection,
Jeny, EcoFlora Coordinator
