Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research

Student’s Volunteer Botanical Internship Program 2010

Participants and Institutions

2010 represented the eighteenth year that the Student’s Volunteer Botanical Intern Program (SVBIP) has been run. Ten interns successfully completed the Program in 2010, making a total since the program’s inception (1992) of 258 students. Students were working towards or had completed degrees in botany, environmental management, conservation and land management and natural history illustration.

Work Output

Output achieved by interns during 2010 was roughly equal to three quarter’s of a one person-year of technical labour.

Curatorial work included mounting and incorporation of vascular and non-vascular specimens, identification of specimens, allocation of labels to specimens ready for mounting, and general herbarium tasks. Significant assistance was again provided to Loans with over 4569 specimens processed as part of both loans and exchange.

Along with curation work, interns provided research assistance to CPBR research scientists. Significant a ssistance was again provided to the Acacia project research groups, including auditing of live plants and updating of data spreadsheets. Assistance was also provided to cryptogams with a number of tasks completed.

Fieldwork in 2010 followed the well-established format of previous years. The first trip was a one-day drive led by Brendan Lepschi and Dave Mallinson, through sites around Queanbeyan, Captains Flat, Tallaganda State Forest and Braidwood, introducing them to many local species.

The four-day residential field trip was held again at Jervis Bay. Interns surveyed a number of woodland and heath communities in Booderee National Park to practice their collecting techniques and acquire material to identify. A “Treasure Hunt” style mapping exercise was also conducted and was both enjoyable and enlightening. Booderee Botanic Gardens Curator Bernie McLeod once again led a Koori bush food and medicine tour around the new Koori section of the Booderee Botanic Gardens while Stig Pedersen discussed the horticultural side of the Gardens. Booderee National Park staff conducted a tour of Bitou Bush control sites and discussed park and reserve management issues with the interns. In addition, this year interns visited the Mangrove Boardwalk at Huskisson.

Concerns and Issues

The perennial problem of accommodation for interstate participants remains a major issue. All students avoided the high priced ANU colleges this year, finding short-term share accommodation off campus. DEWHA and ANU staff generously billeted a number of the participants. The remaining interns were Canberra residents or were lucky enough to have friends or family in the area to stay with. Accommodation costs are the single biggest issue mentioned by students undertaking the Program and assistance with finding short term, affordable accommodation is greatly appreciated.

Accreditation

The following Universities currently provide accreditation for the program:

• Australian National University
• Flinders University
• James Cook University
• Monash University
• University of Melbourne
• University of New England
• University of Queensland
• University of the Sunshine Coast

Acknowledgements

The success of the 2010 Program is in no small part due to the considerable efforts of a number of Centre staff, outside academics and others who freely gave their time to present lectures and training sessions, as well as providing supervision for intern work teams. Thanks are also due to all CPBR and ANBG staff, especially those at the Herbarium, for their tolerance and enthusiasm during the course of the Program. I would particularly like to thank all those who once again provided invaluable support to the Internship Coordinator.

Bronwyn Collins
SVBIP Coordinator
May 2010

Student’s Volunteer Botanical Internship Program Participants 1993 – 2010