Hello Everyone, My name is Evan Eifler, you may know me from the Winter 2016 issue of The Bulb Garden where I wrote about my experiences collecting Geissorhiza in South Africa last August. I'm a PhD student in the University of Wisconsin - Madison Botany Department where I am studying Geissorhiza ecology and evolution as a vector for understanding how the biodiversity hotspot that is the Cape Floristic Region was generated. Please follow the link below for more information: https://experiment.com/projects/… I am writing to you today both to offer more information about my project, and to ask for your help. I am preparing to travel back to South Africa next week and although my department has funded the flight and transportation for my fieldwork this year, I am looking for additional support to help me collect the rest of the species needed for my study. Beyond the scientific merit of the study, I will also be gathering valuable information about the poorly documented and understood species of Geissorhiza. I will be photographing every species I collect which will then be uploaded to the wiki. And the genetic data I gather for this project will be uploaded to the online database, Genbank, which will preserve each species' genetic blueprint into the future even if the fate of the species in the wild is uncertain - which is the case for the roughly 70 species that are already listed as of conservation concern. I am also working on how to bring seeds and/or corms with me back to the US where they may be propagated by this community as a form of ex-situ conservation. I hope this network of bulb enthusiasts will appreciate the work I am doing and will support my endeavor. Please follow the link below for more information, and please don't hesitate to shoot me an email with any questions you might have. My crowdfunding campaign will run for the next 30 days. Thank you, Evan https://experiment.com/projects/… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…