Denver botanic gardens will develop new open-source data management tools that will enable natural history collections to link specimen records with external datasets

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Denver Botanic Gardens Inc. $640,467 on September 1, 2026, under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) to develop open-source data management tools that enable natural history collections to link specimen records with external datasets.

Denver Botanic Gardens will create a digital platform that connects core physical specimens with associated digital resources—including images, genomic data, functional traits, ecological observations, and analytical outputs—currently fragmented across disconnected databases. The organization will validate the tool's efficacy through a case study examining biodiversity responses to changing wildfire regimes in the semi-arid western United States, with focus on herbarium specimens. By linking specimens to ecological and environmental data through accessible digital infrastructure, the project aims to transform natural history collections into resources for interdisciplinary research and applied decision-making.

Performance runs through August 31, 2029, at Denver, Colorado. The assistance type is a Project Grant. National Leadership Grants support projects that address critical needs of the museum and library fields and generate results—such as models, new tools, research findings, services, practices, and alliances—that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend the benefits of federal investment.

Although large-scale digitization efforts have made tens of millions of specimens accessible, much of the rich, multidimensional data associated with these specimens remains fragmented across disconnected databases. This new platform will link a core physical specimen with a network of associated digital resources, including images, genomic data, functional traits, ecological observations, and downstream analytical outputs. Staff will test the tool's efficacy by conducting a case study examining biodiversity responses to changing wildfire regimes in the semi-arid western united states, focusing primarily on specimens in herbarium collections. By linking specimens to ecological and environmental data through accessible digital infrastructure, this project will transform natural history collections into powerful tools for interdisciplinary research and applied decision-making.