Chicago Botanic Garden Fall 2020

12 chicagobotanic.org Plant conservation science and natural areas Kay Havens, Ph.D., Medard and Eliza- beth Welch Senior Director, Ecology and Conservation, shares how the scientists at the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conser- vation Science and Action are working through the COVID-19 health crisis. There’s an old meme that compares what people imagine conservation biologists do—tromping through pris- tine wilderness and traveling to exotic places around the world—versus what they really do—sit in front of their computers dealing with paperwork. And like most memes, it’s funny because it is rooted in the truth. When COVID-19 hit and the Garden closed down, most of the staff of the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conserva- tion Science and Action continued their work, with the only change being where their laptop was located. That work is time sensitive and more important than ever. The threats to plants and natural areas are not on hold due to COVID-19. My colleagues and I are analyzing data, writing papers and grant proposals, and upgrading databases in order to better understand how to protect plants and natural habitats. We are working on technology improvements for Bud- burst and Plants of Concern to allow more people to be part of these com- munity science projects. The Garden’s newly launched synthesis center, sCORES (synthesis center for conservation and restoration), is hold- ing virtual workshops for a project fo- cused on overcoming obstacles in the restoration of challenging species. We are teaching classes in the Garden’s joint graduate program in plant biolo- gy and conservation program with Northwestern University, giving talks, and holding training on virtual plat- forms. As the likelihood of a prolonged COVID-19 outbreak became a reality, we determined how to accomplish our lab and field work in an era of social distancing. We established maximum occupancy for each lab and instituted time slots. Several researchers enlisted local botanists near their field sites to collect samples or data for them. Staff is masking up and maintaining social dis- tancing at nearby field sites while con- ducting rare plant surveys, monitoring vegetation, observing pollinators, col- lecting plants, and more. Our staff who work in western states collecting seed for the national Seeds of Success pro- gram is following similar guidelines. Similarly, our work in the Garden’s natural areas has continued, even when the Garden was closed to visitors. Dur- ing closure, we spent more time than usual on our laptops, working with long-term monitoring data and catch- ing up on research investigating new management techniques. When we could be on-site, we focused on keep- ing invasive weeds from setting seeds, which would set back our management efforts for years. We were rewarded with the recent discovery of two new native plant species in the McDonald Woods, a testament to both the efforts of Garden ecologists and the resilience of nature. We await the day when we can all return to the Garden. In the meantime, we will continue to fight plant extinc- tion, pollution, and climate change— even from our computers. Learn more chicagobotanic.org/research Continued from page 11