Patrick Griffith, MBC Executive Director travelled to Dunedin, New Zealand, as a delegate to the 5th Global Botanic Garden Congress. Convened by Botanic Gardens Conservation International and hosted by Dunedin Botanic Garden, the meeting brought together over 300 experts from over 40 nations to discuss the present and future of botanic gardens.

Patrick presented two research projects at the Congress. First was a presentation on the conservation genetics of cycads, based on work funded by the IMLS. Additionally, Patrick presented a poster on the Caribbean Cycad Project, the large collaborative effort led by USDA, FTBG, NYBG, and MBC (click here for larger size). Patrick’s travel to the conference was partially supported by National Science Foundation through the grant in support of Caribbean Zamia research.

Patrick states: “I was happy to present our work, but far and away the main benefit of this great conference is having a chance to learn about what is new in the field, make new connections and strengthen old ones. I was thrilled to see so many great projects happening around the world.”