Annually in April, WeDigBio (Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections) hosts a digital transcription event in which people worldwide transcribe natural history specimens, herbarium specimens, or other physical records into a digital format. The event usually spans a period of days and participants all transcribe during the same specified time period, often competing to see what group completes the most transcriptions.
During the WeDigBio event, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) encourages participants to visit the Plants of Arkansas project on the community science web platform, Notes from Nature, with a goal of transcribing all herbarium specimens held at Arkansas herbaria or collected from Arkansas. The event often includes sessions with botany experts and provides an opportunity to learn more about the plants being transcribed, the state’s herbaria or the transcription process.
During this year’s event, held April 7-10, the ANHC hosted online sessions about the history of the University of Arkansas Herbarium (UARK), the state’s oldest herbaria, an overview of the Plants of Arkansas Project, and tips for using the SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) online database. Approximately 24 people participated in the Plants of Arkansas Project and they completed 1,656 transcriptions. The History of the UARK Herbarium was well-received and made it into the WeDigBio Day 2 recap blog post.
Photos:
Bottom photo — John T. Buchholz, described Ashe's juniper (Juniperus ashei) as a new species while a professor at the University of Arkansas. Photo used with permission from the Smithsonian Institution.