IMLS-Museums for America Grant Awarded to MBC

Photo of Zamia lucayana in its natural habitatMontgomery Botanical Center just received an award to study Mission Based Collections Planning. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services[MA-30-14-0123-14]. The grant will fund research to develop a plan for managing MBC’s population-based living collection of Zamia lucayana, a group of cycads endemic to The Bahamas.

Montgomery will partner with the USDA Agricultural Research Service Subtropical Horticulture Research Station and Botanic Gardens Conservation International U.S. (BGCI U.S.) to conduct this research, which will directly improve the management of MBC’s Cycad Collection, and help other botanic garden conservation efforts.

The collaborative project team (USDA-SHRS, BGCI U.S., and MBC) will assess the genetic diversity of the botanic garden Zamia lucayana collection and compare the results with a prior IMLS funded project [MA-05-12-0336-12] on Zamia decumbens, while incorporating the new information into collections planning for future work devoted to cycad conservation.

Institute of Museum and Library ServicesProject results will be publically shared with botanical gardens, plant researchers, research facilities, and the greater public through websites, tours, educational programming, conferences, reports, and scientific and popular publications.

For more on the IMLS find it on twitter @US_IMLS and www.facebook.com/USIMLS. Thank you IMLS!