<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><font face="Avenir-Book">The </font><a href="https://wedigbio.org/team-members" style="font-family: Avenir-Book; color: purple;">WeDigBio Board</a><font face="Avenir-Book"> is pleased to announce a </font><b><font face="Avenir-Book">1-hour symposium entitled “Energizing Understanding of Biodiversity Close-at-Hand with Hyperlocal Collections” on October 13 from 2–3 PM ET (=New York City time)</font></b><font face="Avenir-Book">. Hear from diverse perspectives on the roles of hyperlocal natural history collections in advancing biodiversity understanding and conservation, and join in the conversation.</font></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><div><div>2:00–2:05 <i>Welcome! </i>by Austin Mast (Florida State University)</div><div>2:05–2:20 <i>Curating a truly reciprocal resource: the Polly Hill Arboretum Herbarium leverages its focus on local flora to foster mutual community support </i>by <b>Elizabeth Thomas</b> (University of Georgia). </div><div>2:20–2:35 <i>Building from your own backyard: Collections creation in high school as a foundation for research and museum science skills</i> by <b>Matthew Croxton</b> (Lakeland Christian School’s RISE Institute). </div><div>2:35–2:50 <i>Opportunities for hyperlocal collections in libraries—energizing local enthusiasm for biodiversity using citizen science library kits</i> by <b>Amy Osborne</b> (Suwannee River Regional Library) <b>and Austin Mast</b> (FSU). </div><div>2:50–3:00 Panel Discussion</div></div><div><br></div></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><u>Additional Info</u></div><div><font face="Avenir-Book">Hyperlocal collections invite individuals, families, communities, and organizations to a greater understanding of, and personal responsibility for, their local biotas. These collections document such things as a school or library campus, a park, a rural county, and similar. Fostering and deepening relationships between hyperlocal collections and biodiversity research professionals represents a critical opportunity for science and conservation. These collections represent potential pockets of very high quality biodiversity data, given the intense focus on one location, as well as mechanisms to change the ethical calculations that individuals and communities apply to biodiversity (what has been described as “biodiversity mainstreaming”). Join us to hear about examples of hyperlocal collections in several contexts (including a small arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard, a high school, and a rural library) and to contribute to the conversation about the future of these important resources.</font></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;">Register to join us for the event at </div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symposium-on-hyperlocal-biodiversity-collections-tickets-728773570367?aff=ebdssbdestsearch">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symposium-on-hyperlocal-biodiversity-collections-tickets-728773570367?aff=ebdssbdestsearch</a></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;">The 4-day WeDigBio event runs from October 12–15, 2023, and will return in April and October, 2024. To learn more about WeDigBio, visit <a href="http://wedigbio.org/" style="color: purple;">wedigbio.org</a>. We’re here to help you make participation in WeDigBio a regular part of your organization’s outreach activities—just reach out to us at <a href="mailto:wedigbio@gmail.com" style="color: purple;">wedigbio@gmail.com</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;">Please share this announcement with others who might be interested in it—thanks!</div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;">With best regards,</div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Avenir-Book;">Austin Mast, on behalf of the WeDigBio Board </div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><i>Austin Mast <b>—</b> Professor · Department of Biological Science · 319 Stadium Drive · Florida State University · Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295 · U.S.A. · (850) 645-1500 <b>—</b> Director · Institute for Digital Information & Scientific Communication · College of Communication and Information · Florida State University <b>—</b> amast@fsu.edu <b>— </b>he/him</i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></body></html>