Funds from the 2024 Summer travel grant were used to travel to Madrid, Spain for the International Botanic Congress 2024, where I co-led a symposium ‘Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Visual Arts and the Botanical Sciences’ that I had organized along with my fellow members of the SciArt Collective. I presented a talk titled ‘How Do We Learn to Love Learning? Personal Experiences in using Art and Creativity to Facilitate Botanical Outreach.’ For the duration of our symposium, the room we were given was completely full-standing room only- and the feedback we received from engaged and curious audience members bolstered all of our commitments to science and the arts. I met people who I otherwise would not have crossed paths with, people who attended the conference to specifically present in our symposium, and international colleagues I thought I might never meet in-person.
I also got to catch up with friends and colleagues from globally distributed places, one of the only times I get to do that one-on-one. It was wonderful to chat with Dr. Andrew Rozefelds, a colleague who a year or so back visited the paleobotany laboratory at the University of Florida, and Patricia Chan, a colleague from the University of Wisconsin-Madison I have worked with in Western Australia. I was delighted to meet up with fellow paleobotanists, and so pleased to see the seminar room completely packed for Dr. Carlos Jaramillo’s exciting talk. We also took some time to explore and understand the history of the city we were in, visiting the royal palace, as well as the botanic gardens and botanic parks downtown. Nights were spent brainstorming ways to move forward with science-art in the accommodation we shared with other members of the SciArt Collective.
Importantly, these funds allowed me to accompany laboratory research student Chandana Karumanchi to present her research. Chandana was able to speak to many fellow student and early-career scientists and was very interested in the posters and talks incorporating medicinal plants and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. I believe her attendance at this conference allowed her to gain confidence in and exposure to a scientific presentation setting and made for an unforgettable travel experience.
Ashley Hamersma is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, advised by Dr. Steven Manchester, Curator of Paleobotany here at the Florida Museum.
The 2024 Summer Student Travel Awards are supported by the FLMNH Department of Natural History, including funds from the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship and the B.J. and Eve Wilder Endowment. If you would like to help support this fund for future student awards, please go to:
Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship
B.J. and Eve Wilder Endowment