Start Date
2022
Description
In 1901, botanist and teacher Emma Cole published an account of all the vascular plants in the Grand Rapids area, which is the most comprehensive documentation of the flora in the area today. The vicinity of Grand Rapids has been developed significantly since then, and with it the surrounding natural spaces have also been greatly altered. Over the past 7 years, Calvin University’s Emma Cole Project has been inventorying the flora of greater Grand Rapids and comparing modern plant life with the flora during Cole’s time 120 years ago. This project strives to both verify species’ presence around Grand Rapids and look into the impacts of increased urbanization on plant distributions.
Recommended Citation
Hofmann, William; Janssen, Hayden; Vanderschoot, Martin; and Warners, David, "The Emma Cole Project: Reevaluating the Flora of Grand Rapids" (2022). Summer Research. 22.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2022/Posters/22
Included in
The Emma Cole Project: Reevaluating the Flora of Grand Rapids
In 1901, botanist and teacher Emma Cole published an account of all the vascular plants in the Grand Rapids area, which is the most comprehensive documentation of the flora in the area today. The vicinity of Grand Rapids has been developed significantly since then, and with it the surrounding natural spaces have also been greatly altered. Over the past 7 years, Calvin University’s Emma Cole Project has been inventorying the flora of greater Grand Rapids and comparing modern plant life with the flora during Cole’s time 120 years ago. This project strives to both verify species’ presence around Grand Rapids and look into the impacts of increased urbanization on plant distributions.