About New England Botanical Society
New England Botanical Society Brochure
Mission and Vision Statements
Strategic Goals for 2020-2025
The New England Botanical Society (NEBS) was founded in 1896 as the New England Botanical Club. It is a non-profit organization promoting the study of plants of North America, especially the flora of New England and adjacent areas. The Society publishes the peer-reviewed journal Rhodora, holds monthly meetings during the academic year (usually at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts), maintains an herbarium of more than 258,000 sheets, has a small library, and annually grants research and publication awards.
Mission and Vision Statements
The mission of the New England Botanical Society is to increase scientific knowledge and appreciation of the flora of New England.
Our vision is to connect, inspire, mentor, and support a vibrant community of people who are passionate about the flora of New England.
To accomplish this the New England Botanical Society:
- Fosters scientific and social connections among professional and amateur botanists, students, and others who share an interest or passion for the flora of New England;
- Promotes and supports botanical research through annual grants to students, professional and amateur botanists, and academic faculty;
- Disseminates important information on the flora of New England through publication of the scientific journal Rhodora and occasional special publications;
- Hosts regular meetings to showcase the botanical research of scientists and other professionals active in the New England region;
- Organizes botanical conferences, field trips, and educational workshops for members and the general public focused on the flora of New England;
- Preserves, stewards, and continues to expand a significant herbarium collection documenting the vascular and non-vascular flora of New England from the mid-19th century to present;
- Shares information and insight into the rare and endangered flora of New England with relevant conservation entities and supports conservation efforts to preserve the botanical diversity of the region.
Strategic Goals for 2020-2025 are to:
- Expand NEBS's role as a catalyst for professional and social connections among botanists and others in the region, in part through organizing biennial or triennial botanical conferences featuring research on the flora of New England.
- Enhance NEBS's efforts to inspire and connect with the next generation of botanists and plant enthusiasts in the New England region through increased outreach and educational workshops, and by providing venues for students to share their research, with a commitment to supporting and promoting inclusivity and diversity in the botanical field.
- Maintain and, where possible, expand NEBS's support of botanical research in the region through grants to students, faculty, and professional and amateur botanists.
- Provide increased support for on-line resources in Rhodora articles, including linking digital object identifiers and hosting supplemental data, and fostering development of articles by first-time authors, such as graduate students, who are new to scientific writing.
- Serve as a significant force in efforts to document the changing flora of New England through maintaining, digitizing, and sharing the organization's invaluable collections, and by spearheading the generation of new collections and botanical data to support researchers in their efforts to understand floristic changes transpiring in the current era.
- Reinforce and expand NEBS's connections with affiliated organizations and their members within and beyond New England, including other botanical societies and conservation-oriented non-profits, by co-hosting research conferences and planning occasional joint meetings.
- Provide professional advice and objective scientific insight into conservation issues related to preserving the flora of New England in a time of significant environmental change.