The Australian branch of the BHL, hosted by Museums Victoria in Melbourne, has embarked on a significant initiative to gather the history of the regional field naturalist clubs of their home state of Victoria, and to share the invaluable contribution these community organizations have made to Victoria's ecological and social heritage.
This work has been made possible through the acquisition of two grants. The first, a Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) Local History Grant, is funding the digitization of the legacy publications of Victoria's field naturalist clubs and the creation of an online collection on the BHL website. This digitization effort aims to preserve and make accessible the wealth of historical information contained within these publications. The resulting online collection will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, historians, and enthusiasts interested in the flora, fauna, and history of Victoria's diverse regions.
The second, a Wikimedia Australia Partner Grant, focusses on expanding the reach of this digitization effort. Through this grant, Wikipedia pages and Wikidata records will be created for each field naturalist club, as well as for their publications and notable people, places and events across time. It will also fund the sourcing of archival images and the upload of these into Wikimedia Commons.
The publications of Victoria's field naturalist clubs contain critical information about the flora and fauna of their specific region. This information is essential to tracking changes in species distribution and abundance over time. Furthermore, these publications detail the rich history of the organizations themselves, highlighting the dedication and passion of the people behind them. They are a vital resource in efforts to promote and share the contributions of Victoria's historic natural historians. For some of these individuals (particularly those who were not white men), these publications represent their only published recognition and acknowledgement within scientific discourse.
While the global BHL project hosts an extensive repository of biodiversity knowledge, much of this material originates from large publishers, museums and herbaria. Small community-based organizations are not well represented, either on BHL or elsewhere. Their publications are challenging to access, both in physical and digital forms. By digitizing and making these publications available online, BHL Australia is bridging this gap, ensuring that the history and biodiversity knowledge of Victoria's field naturalists clubs are freely accessible and discoverable to a global audience.
BHL Australia extends its heartfelt gratitude to both PROV and Wikimedia Australia for their support and collaboration in this endeavor.
The field naturalist clubs involved in the project thus far include:
View all publications in the Victorian Field Naturalists Collection here.