Southeastern Grasslands Initiative Staff Attended the Center for Plant Conservation National Meeting 2022

Earlier this year, SGI became an official partner of the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), an organization that advances the science and practice of rare plant conservation by making sure its partners are equipped with the resources to best save plants. In particular, these partners – or as CPC calls them, Participating Institutions – are organizations that maintain ex situ rare plant collections. This could mean live plants in a botanic garden or seeds in a seed bank. With the establishment of our Conservation Seed Bank which focuses on rare and declining grassland plants, we were a perfect match to partner up with CPC.

Searching for Porter’s Goldenrod in 2022

Over a century ago the botanist and Presbyterian minister Thomas Conrad Porter collected a rather elusive plant in Jasper County, Georgia (southeast of Atlanta). Upon collecting it, T.C. Porter identified it as one species. Half a century later in 1902, his nephew, the famous botanist John Kunkel Small, author of the original Flora of the Southeastern United States, took another look at his uncle’s collected specimens. He recognized the specimen as a species new to science and named it after his esteemed uncle – Solidago porteri, or Porter’s Goldenrod. After that, T.C. Porter’s pressed plant specimens sat nestled away in the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium and were promptly lost to the annals of history. That is, until another century and change later when SGI’s Executive Director Dwayne Estes discovered a new population in south-central Tennessee nearly 250 miles from where T.C. Porter originally collected it in Georgia in 1846.

May 2022 Newsletter

April has been an extremely busy and exciting month for us. Education and outreach, volunteer activities, restoration work, networking, and much more are some of the many activities that SGI has been involved with this month. Read this newsletter to hear about all our exciting news and announcements, find out about our upcoming events in May, be reminded of our recent blog articles, and find out the hot topics being discussed in our Facebook group.

Celebrating Trees in Grasslands

Did you know that trees can play a vital role in some types of grassland communities? Approximately 200 different types of grasslands have been identified in the Southeast and several of those grassland communities include trees. This fact often surprises people because of our common view that grasslands are completely devoid of trees. In this photo essay we are celebrating some of the grassland communities that include trees, as well as some of the plants and animals that make up those communities.

Getting to Know Us: Marcello De Vitis

Marcello De Vitis joined SGI in 2021 as our first Director of the Seeds of Success - Southeast program. Marcello brings with him extensive experience working in some of the leading seed banks and seed programs in the world. His educational background includes a PhD in Ecology & Management of Biological Resources from Tuscia University in Viterbo, Italy, an M.S. in Ecological Sciences, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences, both from Sapienza University in Rome. Recently we sat down with Marcello to learn a little more about him and his role at SGI.

On the Road with SGI: Visiting the State Botanical Garden of Georgia

On Tuesday March 15, 2022, several members of the SGI staff visited our partners at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia to plan for future work together on opportunities in land conservation and restoration, native plant research, and community building through volunteerism and ecological stewardship. The visit was a mix of strategic discussions, pleasant walks through the outdoors, and learning about research and restoration projects led by the Garden’s team.

April 2022 Newsletter

Education and outreach, volunteer activities, restoration work, networking, and much more are some of the many activities that SGI has been involved with this month. Read this newsletter to hear about all our exciting news and announcements, find out about our upcoming events in April, be reminded of our recent blog articles, and find out the hot topics being discussed in our Facebook group.

Getting to Know Us: Zach Wood

Zach Wood is the first Georgia Grasslands Coordinator for the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia*. He joined SGI and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in 2021. Zach’s expertise is in prescribed fire as a land management tool for endangered species, especially reptiles and amphibians, in the Coastal Plains ecoregion. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Recently we sat down with Zach to learn a little more about him and his role at SGI.