#Scifund Round 3 is underway and each day I will highlight a new proposal from the Challenge to give you a more in-depth understanding of each participant and their research.
Today I present Sara Babin. Her research (in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy) focuses on the amazing venus fly trap (star of one of my favorite movies ever: Little Shop of Horrors).
Tell us about yourself, where you are from, and where you see yourself going.
I’m Sara Babin, formerly Sara Over but I got hitched. I am originally from the great State of Vermont but my job searching of course led me away from there to North Carolina, a State I love equally as much and now consider my home. My family still remains in Vermont so I have many opportunities to visit. I am passionate about conservation, and though I may not keep my current position with The Nature Conservancy forever, I do believe I will always remain true to conservation in some form or another; saving the planet one tree at a time (or in the case of my Sci Fund campaign one Venus flytrap at a time).
How did you get involved in your research project?
My project came about when we (me and my colleagues working to manage 35000 acres in the Southeast Coastal Plain of North Carolina) realized that we were sitting on an extensive population of Venus flytraps in our Green Swamp preserve but had no idea what kind of numbers we were talking about and where they were located specifically. So in an effort to better our knowledge we decided that a comprehensive survey would be the answer. If we know where they are growing we can implement the needed management (essentially controlled burning as the Venus flytrap habitat is fire dependent) to sustain the population indefinitely. See the Venus flytrap is an endemic species; it only grows in the wild in a small region of southeast North Carolina and Northeast South Carolina, essentially a 100 mile radius around Wilmington, NC. So conservation on a larger scale led us to this very specific project. This is ultimately how the whole conservation process works.
Why is your research important to you? Why should others fund it?
This project is very important to me and I will tell you why; protecting a lasting natural world for generations to come is essential. If there are not interesting landscapes and biodiversity what else do we have? The alternative scares me. The Venus flytrap is so unique. It only grows in a very small part of the world, it thrives on insects for nutrients, and it has a market value based on its uniqueness. Its small endemic habitat if lost would mean the loss of the plant, and its market value has led to more poaching which over time decimates its population. If we don’t manage the habitat of the Venus flytrap properly we could lose this unique plant which is a key representative of the southeast coastal plain region and all of the neat biodiversity here.
Do you have a favorite story that came from working on your research project?
Well not yet, our project hasn’t started. Because there are only three staff that work in my project office we don’t have time to do the baseline survey on our own so we plan on contracting the work out to a botanist that has done other community monitoring for us in the past. So we are hoping to raise money to pay the botanist.
Why did you decide to particpate in the SciFund Challenge?
It was an interesting alternative to the everyday fundraising that most non-profits take part in. Social media is the way now and crowd funding seemed like a good way to raise money for a specific project, one that was defined. We could have tried to come up with grant funding (and we may still have to based on how well this campaign goes) but this seemed like a cool way to engage a different demographic. Hoping for the best!
What was the most difficult aspect of building your SciFund Proposal? What was your favorite?
The most difficult was by far the video, which also turned out to be my favorite part. I had never put together a video, so the initial idea was frightening. But after playing with the software it turned out to be a fun task, one that allowed me to use my creative side. It took a looooong time to make though; I guess it was the learning curve. Our proposal was quite simple because we know exactly what we needed; it just had to be laid out in a way that made sense to the masses.
Tell us something random. Something funny. Something borrowed. Something blue.
When I took this job 5 years ago I had no idea that the Venus flytrap was endemic to such a small region, in fact it never occurred to me to wonder where it actually grew in nature. I suppose I just assumed it was from somewhere in Asia! Now I am fighting to protect this species and its unique pine savanna habitat and I want so much for as many other people in the world to know what I know. I find this to be very random and serendipitous.
Indeed! I also was surprised to find out the Venus flytrap grows in the United States! To save you time from scrolling up, you can read about her project and contribute here. Thanks Sara for sharing your science!