University of California, Santa Barbara (Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, University of California, Santa Barbara)

The University of California, Santa Barbara’s (UCSB) Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) will image 71,600 specimens in its vascular plant collection in order to improve access to the collections for UCSB faculty, students, CCBER staff, environmental consultants, and the general public and contribute to a larger effort worldwide to digitize millions of biological specimens. In addition, the project will result in improved protocols for creating databases, increased capacity for online identification of specimens, increased preservation of specimens by reducing handling over time, availability of new data sets for regional and statewide biodiversity studies, and increased learning opportunities for interns in museum studies and collections management.