New York Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) will conduct Phase I of the NYC EcoFlora Project which will include the development and prototyping phase of a database of naturally occurring plant species, and their relationships with other organisms and physical conditions that allow plants to exist. This major New York City-wide initiative, led by NYBG, will leverage local natural history collections, biodiversity data, and citizen scientists to understand the dynamics of the city's native plant species. Project activities include brainstorming and protocol development workshops, the design of the NYC EcoFlora project's website, and piloting citizen science data collection on two tree species in NYBG's 50-acre native forest. The findings from this phase will inform the NYC EcoFlora project's city-wide launch in 2018. The project will provide a model for how informal science institutions can collaborate to engage the public in real-world scientific research, by compiling and leveraging biodiversity data to improve our environmental understanding and conservation for urban regions.