Educational Programs and Activities

The world's biodiversity is currently at great risk, and those few centers of research excellence in systematics that are also associated with first-class university education programs have an especially important role to play. Because of its unusual combination of attributes, with large herbaria and botanical garden as well as a number of supporting laboratories located within a major research university, UC Berkeley can make a unique contribution within California (and indeed the western United States) to these educational challenges.

A variety of undergraduate courses are taught by members of the Herbaria staff. Staff who are appointed as faculty members regularly supervise graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate projects are also possible. During the school year, the Herbaria host a weekly Botany Lunch seminar series, an informal brown-bag series in our lunchroom open to everybody, but especially the various botanical labs and groups on campus.

In 1994, the Friends of the Jepson Herbarium began a program to provide educational opportunities for a broad audience of professional and amateur botanists. The Jepson Herbarium's educational program continues to grow as we add additional workshops and classes. The program serves as a liaison between the scientific community and the interested public. We remain dedicated to that role.