ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN GOES DIGITAL

The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is transforming our botanical treasures into high definition images and opening their collection to the world.

The National Herbarium of NSW holds a priceless collection of over 1.4 million preserved plant specimens, dating back to Captain Cook's first voyage of 1770. Going digital will aid in addressing a range of environmental and conservation issues, help discover new species, and safeguard the Garden’s collection for generations to come.

These invaluable botanical resources hold important secrets from our past and will unlock vital clues for our future.

"This will be the largest herbarium imaging project in the Southern Hemisphere, which will share and protect our botanical treasures by placing high-resolution images online for the world to see and use,” said Jo White, Director of Science and Conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.

Sharing these high-definition images globally will give researchers and the public unlimited access to the entire specimen collection, helping to solve some of the critical challenges facing humanity today.

This global photo library will protect the rare and precious specimens against the dangers associated with frequent handling so that they can be used virtually for world-leading science for generations to come.

Approximately 4000 flat sheet specimens will be digitised each day over the next two years using a high-tech conveyor belt system by Picturae, one of the world's most renowned digital conservation companies.

By 2021, all 1.4 million specimens will be available for everyone in the world to access via high-definition digital images.

Will you help one of Australia’s most renowned gardens share and protect this priceless collection?

Find out how you can help here.

Images © Royal Botanic Garden Sydney