In terms of communicating my research, I hope to create a tool that can be used by fellow botanists, Allegheny Land Trust (the organization that owns the field site I am working on), and ecologists using resources from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium. The final product of my research will be both published in an academic journal and shared with the above-mentioned organizations for their personal records. I will be discussing my work at multiple poster sessions with the goal of emphasizing the significance of tools such as flora lists in biodiversity conservation and the general research of natural sciences.

While I am used to discussing my project with those familiar with biodiversity, climate change, and general botany, communicating the importance of my research to a more general audience can be much different. While most of the discussions I have in the near future will be with people in my field at the botany-focused conferences, the tool I am creating has the potential to be used in a variety of fields. The most important thing that I must note is that my project may never reach a complete ending point due to the ever-changing nature of a location’s flora, although it will be published and made public so that others may use it in their research. It is important for me to communicate to others that the “finished product” of this project will be ever-changing, but creating a complete list of the species present at the research site now will provide a sort-of check mark for how the site’s flora is currently composed. Completing the flora now will aid future botanists and natural scientists in understanding both what is at the site now and how some species may disappear, appear, or re-appear in the future.

In the future, I may need to communicate with professionals from a variety of fields. As the need for biodiversity conservation rises, the work dedicated to supporting healthy ecosystems will become more interdisciplinary in its work with local government, much like it already has been. In order to allow this work to be most effective, the ability to communicate its importance will allow for more collaborative and productive environments pertaining to biodiversity conservation. My project is a small but incredibly important part in monitoring plant biodiversity, and understanding how to communicate its significance will allow my work to travel farther and provide information for many projects to come, whether those by my own projects or the projects of my peers.