Long-term volunteer needed, and gain valuable experience with Laukahi

Laukahi’s mission is to protect rare Hawaiian plants, both ex situ and in situ. One of our founding members and partners is the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program (HRPP) at Lyon Arboretum. We are looking for long-term volunteers to facilitate the transfer of rare plant material from in vitro germplasm back out into their wild habitats. Other partner organizations, such as the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, collected fruits/seeds or cuttings from the wild and send this material to HRPP for storage. After germinating the seeds, or establishing the cutting, the plants live in aseptic conditions (in tubes) until such a time that managers of the habitat deem it restored to a suitable condition that the plants will thrive in. At this time, the plants are taken from tubes (ex situ) and re-planted in the wild (in situ) in hopes of native plant re-introduction, as well as restoration of the habitat. An online platform holds such information as: the numbers of plants to be transferred, at what time, and at which stage of growth and media. Volunteers would be responsible for managing this online spreadsheet, transferring the propagules from media to pots in the greenhouse, and tracking plants as they are transferred. This is a continuation of the work done for an IMLS grant (see here), “Action Planning for the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program in vitro Germplasm Collection.” Where the Action Plans are now complete, this is the time for action! IMPORTANT: If you are interested in this opportunity, please email the Laukahi Coordinator (Emily) at coordinator@laukahi.org for further instructions, noting which day(s) you RSVP'd for. Mahalo nui!