Ph.D. student Else Demeulenaere receives Botany Advocacy Leadership Award
This award organized by the Environmental and Public Policy Committees of the Botanical Society of America (BSA) and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) aims to support local efforts that contribute to shaping public policy on issues relevant to plant sciences. Her proposal Bringing Biocultural Diversity to the Forefront of the Political Agenda in Guam will give Else the opportunity to further advocate for endemic plants, cultural practices, and the protection of sacred places like Litekyan at a policy level. It highlights the outstanding value of Else’s dissertation research. It is an exciting intersection of resolving the genetic nature of one of Guam’s charismatic trees, an exploration of the ethnobotany of Serianthes, and an advocacy for natural resources in the face of threats from human disturbances in Micronesia. Congrats Else!
