Tag Archives for museum collections

Digitisation of the National Herbarium of Ireland: Moving on from Manual to Semi-Automatic Imaging.

Written by Wuu Kuang Soh, botanist at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland (OPW).

The National Herbarium (DBN) at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland is home to an ever-expanding collection of approximately 600,000 plant and fungal specimens from across Ireland and around the globe. This rich collection spans mainly from the early 1800s to the present day, including specimens gathered from voyages of exploration, ranging from the Americas to Asia. Some of the oldest specimens, dating back to 1661, are over 350 years old. Apart from our herbarium, the other important plant collections on the island of Ireland are held by the Ulster Museum and Trinity College Dublin. This makes the DBN collection invaluable not only as a source of natural heritage but also as a part of Ireland’s cultural legacy. 

Herbarium collections are crucial to enhancing our understanding of the natural world. Beyond documenting plant species, these specimens reveal the intricate relationships between plants and their environments and tell the story of botanical discovery over time. The wealth of data gathered from this collection allows us to track historical and geographical changes in flora and helps predict future environmental impacts. Digitising this vast collection is a key step toward preserving these resources for future generations. Digital records not only provide greater access for researchers and the public but also safeguards the physical specimens by minimising handling and potential damage.

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Conservation Matters in Wales – Christmas Conference 2023

Written by Sebastien Lherondel-Davies, 2nd year BSc student, Swansea University, whilst on placement at National Museum Cardiff and Swansea Museum.

On Wednesday 13th December 2023, conservators and curators from all over Wales gathered in Swansea for the first in-person Conservation Matters Wales Christmas Conference since the pandemic. Conservation Matters Wales is a collaboration between Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries in Wales, and Cardiff University. The event, hosted by the delightful Swansea Museum, was an opportunity for professionals in the museum collections conservation sector to come together and share the wide range of projects they have been working on. The conference provided us with the chance to present our research project on a historic Lepidoptera collection. 

Swansea Museum
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Make Plastic History

Written by Glenn Roadley, Curator of Natural Science, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent.

In May 2023, Professor Claire Gwinnett reached out to me with an opportunity to host a public event at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (PMAG). Claire, Professor of Forensic and Environmental Science at Staffordshire University, is an expert in the study of plastic pollution and has worked with the museum before to lead activities at our various science events, so immediately thought of us when seeing the call for applications for the British Academy’s SHAPE Involve and Engage grants. The programme offered grants of up to £8,000 for innovative engagement activities which highlight humanities research, with partnerships between academic and cultural institutions eligible to apply. Claire and I put our heads together and came up with a plan for a day of family-friendly activities aimed at raising awareness of plastic pollution and the research being undertaken to tackle it. At the centre of these activities would be a workshop run by Dan Lewis, an artist who uses plastic fragments found on the beach to create works of art.

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NatSCA Digital Digest – October 2024

Compiled by Milo Phillips, Digitisation Coordinator at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Welcome to the October edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

A monthly blog series featuring the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences, and training opportunities. We are keen to hear from you if you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest, please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.

Sector News

Forensic Solutions to Pangolin Poaching

Does your collection include pangolins? Museum pangolins requested in an effort to build a stable isotope database.

The plight of the pangolin and intensification of poaching for traditional medicine is well-publicised. There is an urgent need for new forensic solutions to this crisis that transcend disciplines. The Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) are seeking small scale samples from any and all pangolin species held in UK museums. Of particular interest currently is the Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis).

The project aims to develop a robust, multi-isotope provenancing map which will make it possible to determine where specific confiscated scales are poached. It will do this using stable isotopes and spatial markers such as trace metals. The team at SUERC are happy to travel for in-house destructive sampling or can provide postage materials if the curators and collection managers would prefer to take samples themselves.

For details, please contact Ruth Lewis-Smith (r.lewis-smith.1@research.gla.ac.uk) at the University of Glasgow.

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