• The herbarium has been traditionally involved with the public and government at several levels. Government organizations such as the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) use the herbarium as a resource in research projects and documentation of rare species. Hospitals and Police departments use the herbarium as a resource for identifications and information on toxic and hallucinogenic plants. Weed inspectors and the University of Guelph Pest Diagnostic Clinic use the herbarium as resource in expert plant identification. Field botanists and consultants use the herbarium as a resource in plant taxonomy. Professional taxonomists visit the herbarium to study specimens of related taxa in our collection. Members of the public frequently contact the herbarium regarding general botanical questions.

• Establishing linkages to and a solid presence within communities outside the University is key to the long-term sustainability of the herbarium and BIO itself. This program will serve as the bridge between the University and those elements of society-at-large that have a need for biodiversity information. Fortunately the community of interested parties is large- it includes federal and provincial Ministries and Departments charged with natural resource management as well as NGOs, industry, First Nation communities and many public groups. All of these organizations share a common need for biodiversity information and what better way to satisfy it than through our graduates and staff. We believe that this program will not only disseminate knowledge and awareness, but will position BIO as the central node in meeting Canada's need for such information.

• Bio-Bridge will be assessable to users via a web-based Flora Ontario, Integrated Botanical Information System (FOIBIS), which will be interconnected to herbaria and research institutions provincially, nationally and internationally. The herbarium services offered through bio-bridge could include some of the following:

  • Expert plant identification services
  • Information on weed identification
  • Courses on plant identification
  • Instruction on collecting and preserving plants
  • Seminars on biodiversity and conservation
  • Consulting for biodiversity surveys and studies
  • General taxonomic or biodiversity information service
  • Access to FOIBIS databases and related floristic information
  • Access to the Ontario Invasive Plant Information Service (OIPIS)
  • Access to the herbarium collection database
  • Access to the Aboriginal Repository of floristic Knowledge (ARK)
  • Access to the Quantitative Biodiversity Database (QBD)
  • Digital photographic images of plants

You can get involved by supporting 1) botanical apprenticeships 2) projects such as the Flora Ontario, or the detection invasive species 3) research in ethnobotany or biodiversity, or 4) community projects. Please contact Dr. Steven Newmaster for details if you wish to join our research team by supporting one of our biodiversity projects.