skip to main content

Sunday, June 4, 2023

play newscast audioPlay

A Wisconsin group criticizes two of its members of Congress, a new report says the Phoenix area cannot meet its groundwater demands, and Nevada's sporting community sends its priorities to the governor.

play newscast audioPlay

The Senate aims to get the debt limit spending bill to President Biden's desk quickly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes a campaign stop in Iowa, and a new survey finds most straight adults support LGBTQ+ rights.

play newscast audioPlay

Oregon may expand food stamp eligibility to some undocumented households, rural areas have a new method of accessing money for roads and bridges, and Tennessee's new online tool helps keep track of cemetery locations.

Botanists Leap Into the Digital Age

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 26, 2015   

AUSTIN, Texas - If you've ever looked at a plant and wondered how it fits into the ecosystem, well, now there's an app for that. The Botanical Research Institute of Texas, the international award-winning non-profit based in Fort Worth, has created a new digital tool to promote conservation and learning.

The institute's special projects coordinator Zoey Gossett says the app is great for amateur botanists, teachers and students. She says it's ideally suited to help sparks a kid's natural curiosity and to get them outside.

"The younger generation loves technology, and so what better way to engage them than having a application tool that they can use on hand, look at a plant, and learn about the anatomy of the plant while they're doing that," she says.

The app includes a user-friendly key to help identify plants quickly based on common features. It also comes with a glossary, links to information about plant families, and color photographs of live plants.

Gossett says the project focuses on the north Texas region because it's a unique, often undervalued ecosystem that's also home to a very large population of people.

The Botanical Research Institute hopes the new digital tool will help foster an appreciation for the natural beauty of the Fort Worth prairie and its plants, and increase awareness of how the prairie connects to Texans' daily lives.

"They provide oxygen," says Gossett. "They provide food for insects that in themselves pollinate the plant to provide food for us."

Gossett reasons the more you learn about how plants and humans work together, the easier it is to make more environmentally conscientious decisions in your own back yard.

The app comes with images, technical descriptions, and information on the relationship between plants and people. It includes more than 300 plants from across the Fort Worth prairie and parts of the Western Cross Timbers.


get more stories like this via email

Almost all departments in Connecticut schools saw shortages in 2022, following a long-standing national trend. A 2022 American Federation of Teachers report found before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 300,000 teachers were leaving the profession each year. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As the school year ends, Connecticut's teacher shortage seems to have only worsened. In March, school districts across the state reported having 2,60…


Social Issues

play sound

A Muslim rights group is taking the Kent County Sheriff's Office to court for forcing a Michigan woman to remove her hijab for a booking photo…

Social Issues

play sound

A rally was held in Salem Thursday to urge passage of a bill to provide food assistance to Oregonians regardless of their immigration status…


Pennsylvanians must register to vote by Oct. 23 to be eligible to vote in the general election on Nov. 7. (Vesperstock/AdobeStock)

Social Issues

play sound

The Keystone State's general election is less than six months away and a nonpartisan, grassroots organization is already getting the word out to …

Social Issues

play sound

This week's debt ceiling deal saw federal policymakers compromise on budget-related matters, but a new awareness campaign from a Wisconsin grassroots …

Sarah Van Loon, Midwest regional director for the American Jewish Committee, said it is incumbent upon all of us to teach children about the Holocaust. (Adobe stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Hoosiers could play a pivotal role in pushing back against a surge of hate and violence against Jews in America. Nearly two-thirds of all …

Environment

play sound

The Nevada hunting and fishing community is sharing its top 10 conservation priorities for 2023 with Gov. Joe Lombardo's office, as they seek to …

Social Issues

play sound

Some Illinois real estate corporations are getting large paydays by charging homeowners assessments for "common expenses," and the owners allege they …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021