May 2025

Overall

• Big welcome to our new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) student, Hank Helmers! Hank will be working with the lab for the next 10 weeks, and is a Biology & Computer Science student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. 
• Sean and Emma hosted almost 15 members of Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI), including the Student Conservation Association crew, on a walk-and-talk to learn about the threatened butternut tree. We talked about its historic ecological, economic and cultural significance; viewed several butternuts (in flower and leaf out) at Parking lot 2; examined butternut canker symptoms and butternut shells; and answered many questions about butternut trees and other threatened trees. We also had a brief detour to see the threatened oaks and magnolias in the threatened tree collection. It was an exciting session of knowledge sharing and enjoying spring!  This was followed by a KYA in which about 25 people attended in person and 15 online. 
• Emma also presented on butternut tree to utility tree care specialists for the Day of Education at the Gateway for Tree Science. She highlighted the importance of taking multiple conservation strategies to support this species including coordinating with other tree professionals to locate butternut trees in our area. We identified this group of professionals as a great resource to collaborate with in potentially locating butternuts living along the electrical transmission lines under which ComEd provides vegetation management services.
• Ash received a travel grant from University of Chicago for their work on Quercus brandegeei in Baja, Mexico! This grant will support their final field season this fall which will include seed collections, scouting populations, and interviewing conservation program participants.
• Sean helped the Social Media, Leadership, and Government Relations teams in crafting an impactful social media post about recent proposed changes to the U.S. Endangered Species Act, featuring a threatened but keystone oak species, Quercus havardii. Sean provided facts about the species (its biology, threats, conservation research and action, and importance) and a Call To Action for readers. 

Presentations

• Ash and Dana, along with our GTCP friends Angie Wang and Kate Good, attended the Center for Plant Conservation meeting in St Louis May 8-9. This annual meeting of around 200 plant conservationists brings together nonprofits, government agencies and botanic gardens to share stories of success and lessons learned from plant conservation. Dana presented a poster on their work on Quercus brandegeei seedling adoption program by communities in Baja, co-authored with Ash, Sean Hoban, Silvia Alvarez Clare, and Daniel Morales.
• Sean gave a presentation with his colleague Alicia Mastretta-Yanes to a webinar hosted by BGCI on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. About 45 people attended.