University of California, Berkeley (University and Jepson Herbaria)

The University and Jepson Herbaria at the University of California, Berkeley, will increase the accessibility of its collection by producing a set of short-format videos that describe the techniques and characters needed to identify 500 common and characteristic plants of California. The videos will be freely accessible on YouTube, incorporating scans of specimens and illustrations and maps from the Jepson eFlora, a primary authority on the native and naturalized plants of California. The project team will develop 350 videos describing how to identify individual plant species. Community members will also contribute an additional 150 videos following standard format guidelines and a thorough set of training materials. The videos will serve as an intensive study aid for the California Botanist Certification Program and broaden the herbarium's outreach to a new, less formally trained, and younger audience. The herbarium will collaborate with the Lawrence Hall of Science to conduct a two-phase evaluation of the project.