TODAY'S HOURS: 8 AM – 4 PM

*Last entry is an hour before closing

TODAY'S HOURS: 8 AM – 4 PM

*Last entry is an hour before closing

Conserve

This category represents all volunteer activities that involve or relate to conservation of plants, specimens, and plant-related media. 

BRIT Library 

These positions are currently on hold. Please reach out to volunteer@brit.org if you are interested in these opportunities.

Art Assistant

  • Art assistants will assist with the upkeep of BRIT Library’s art collections, measuring and inventorying art and assisting with exhibit design and execution.

Archival Project Assistant

  • Archival project assistants will help preserve old and fragile documents and other archival materials, rehouse archival materials, clean up finding aids, help with short-term special projects, and shelving materials in their appropriate location.

Digitization Assistant*

  • Digitization assistants will help provide virtual access to the BRIT Library collection by scanning, imaging, and describing archival materials.

Stacks Management Assistant

  • Stacks management assistants will help with the shelving and shifting of library and archival materials to maximize our storage area.

Transcription Assistant*

  • Transcription assistants will help decode handwriting on archival materials, entering this information into spreadsheets.

*These are roles with tasks that may be completed virtually.

BRIT Press

 These positions are currently on hold. Please reach out to volunteer@brit.org if you are interested in these opportunities.

Mailing Assistant

  • As mailing assistant, volunteers will sort reprints of works or journals, copyedit, help assemble BRIT’s biannual scientific journal, promote at book fairs, inventory, and other publishing duties as necessary.

Herbarium: Specimen Preservation

  • Volunteers in this role will affix and repair preserved plant material specimens to archival cardstock. This role requires volunteers to have a delicate touch to handle the delicate plant material using a variety of tools to ensure plant material is preserved properly. Additional training is required for this position and will be scheduled accordingly before the assignment start date.

Herbarium: Specimen Filing

  • Have a knack for organizing? In this role, you are required to file herbarium specimens in the proper folders, sheet locations, and cabinets according to BRIT Herbarium standards. The specimens are stored at a cool 64 degrees, so dress appropriately. This role also requires you to stand, walk, push, and reach taller cabinets using either a step stool or a ladder. Additional training is required for this position and will be scheduled accordingly before the assignment start date.

Herbarium: Specimen Imaging

  • In this role, you will document specimens using photographs, a flatbed scanner, or a DSLR light-box to document 3D fruit or fungal specimens. Dexterity is required to handle the more delicate specimens. Additional training is required for this position and will be scheduled accordingly before the assignment start date.

Herbarium: Specimen Transcription*

  • Are you fast at typing? This role requires you to transcribe information on printed plant specimen labels to the relevant fields in an online database. Beginner computer literacy is required, but additional training can be administered for more specialized training with our databases. Additional training is required for this position and will be scheduled accordingly before the assignment start date. You can learn more about this virtual opportunity on the Armchair Botanist Program page.

Herbarium: Specimen Preparation

  • The tasks involved in this role involve preparing the specimens for the next step of curation. This includes but is not limited to affixing barcodes to specimens, creating labels, restocking and organizing supplies, assisting with incoming materials, repairing specimens, and sorting specimens. This role requires dexterity in handling small, delicate pieces of plant material. This can be an independent or group activity. Additional training is required for this position and will be scheduled accordingly before the assignment start date.

Herbarium: Special Curatorial Projects

  • These projects are clearly outlined and specified that requires specific skills and education. They are also specific to a geographic area containing a particular group of plants or requiring the aid of an individual botanist. Training will be provided for a project if needed, either individually or in a group setting. The time commitment for Special Curatorial Projects is larger than the other research positions, requiring 8 hours of specialized training, with most projects averaging 30 hours for completion. 

 Research: General Projects

  • Volunteers in this category assist with projects related to members of the Research team on an as-needed basis. These may range from data entry, to specimen processing, to clerical tasks, to field assistance. Specific past examples include surveying and measuring campus trees, sorting insect samples, adding Spanish captions to videos, transcribing field logs, georeferencing older specimens, and organizing data files. Training will be provided in most instances, either individually or in a group setting. The time commitment for General Projects is variable; a minimum commitment may apply to a specific project.

Research: Conservation Seed Bank

  • Volunteers will assist the Conservation team in seed cleaning, accessioning, preservation and more. Reach out to our Director of Texas Plant Conservation, Dr. Brooke Best, for more information on how to get involved.
 

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