Infrastructure upgrade and curation of the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration Herbarium at UCSB

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The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) at the University of California Santa Barbara will install a new compact storage system to house its historically significant and biologically important algae and plant collections. The collections include some of the oldest algal material from the central California coast and a rich diversity of plants from threatened and unique habitats. The specimens will be transferred from the existing 60-year-old cases into the new storage system, which will provide enhanced accessibility and organization. During the transfer, each specimen will be examined for damage, new labels will be prepared, and misidentified specimens will be corrected.The new compact storage system and curation will have important impacts on research, teaching and outreach programs at the university and in the broader community. Scientists worldwide and the large environmental consulting community on the central coast that uses CCBER's resources will benefit from the increased accessibility and organization. CCBER will also train graduate and undergraduate students in specimen preparation, curation, and the use of the collections as well as engaging local elementary students in activities focused on the plant and algae specimens.