The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) has received more than $6.4 million in grants to fund research in biodiversity, climate change, human activities and extinction.
Projects that were funded include conservation paleobiology and the restoration of urban areas, as well as local projects on biodiversity and the digitisation of insect collections.
Dr Lori Bettison-Varga, the NHMLAC’s president and director, said the museum is “a vital and unique organization that stewards research in a variety of scientific and cultural fields as well as a collection of more than 35 million specimens and objects”.
“Today, scientific and collections inquiries are more important than ever, and on behalf of our scientists and curators, we are so proud of being awarded these significant grants, enabling further understanding of our changing world.”
One grant for $2.9m, the largest single grant that the museum’s research and collections department has ever received, will fund a postbaccalaureate mentoring programme. This will allow for biodiversity research and mentorship.
NHMLAC’s urban biodiversity projects
Another grant for $657,455 will further Dr Emily Lindsey‘s work in end-Pleistocene environmental changes related to climate change, human activities, and extinction.
In addition, the California Department of Parks and Recreation awarded $666,696 to NHMLAC for a project that seeks to increase participation in outdoor experiences at state parks and other public lands.
Dr Luis Chiappe, NHMLAC’s senior VP of research and collections, said the grants “illustrate our commitment to diversity, inclusion and mentorship, while fostering research and activating our collections for the benefit of society”.
Chiappe said he is “excited by the diversity of projects, from urban biodiversity and community engagement to asphaltic fossils and parasite evolution”.
Meanwhile, the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County is reimagining and renovating its 12-acre campus in Hancock Park, which is home to the world-renowned La Brea Tar Pits.
Images: NHMLAC
