Cloudy, 59°F
Cloudy, 59°F
125 Arborway
Boston, MA 02130
Phone: 617.384.5607
Fax: 617.524.1418
Email
BS Botany (2003), University of Maine, Orono
Since 2004, I have been a Curatorial Assistant in the Plant Records Office at the Arnold Arboretum. I oversee all aspects of accessioning, documentation, nomenclatural reviews, research support, and herbarium vouchering of the collection. My job is to make sure we have the most complete and accurate information regarding all aspects of the living collections.
I received my bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of Maine, Orono, where plant taxonomy and botanical nomenclature became my passion. I also studied Medical Anthropology and Ethnobotany. I am truly fascinated with the interaction between people and plants.
My previous work experience includes working as a Professional Specialist at the University of Maine Herbarium, where I was charged with collecting, mounting, documenting, identifying, and caring for herbarium specimens. I was a lab technician in a mycological lab studying the growth of imperfect fungi on low-bush blueberries. Through fieldwork, greenhouse work, and lab work I was able to identify and isolate common strains of imperfect fungi. Finally, I was employed as a lab technician for the USDA-ARS Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory, where I ran many experiments including the extraction of genomic DNA from soil samples.
When I am not hard at work at the Arboretum, I am at home with my husband and two beautiful children experiencing all that life has to offer.
Richardson, K. 2009. A Closer Look at Fungi in the Arnold Arboretum. Arnoldia 66 (4): 13-21.
Richardson, K. 2010. Magnolia kobus. Silva [pdf]