The Natural Science Collections Facility is a network of South African institutions holding natural science collections, established as part of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s Research Infrastructure Roadmap and co-ordinated by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Participating institutions are committed to collaborating to achieve the following objectives:
Collections secured and accessible physically and virtually for research
Data from specimens in collections accessible and used for managing collections, research and decision-making
Research on collections and associated data addresses issues of national and global relevance
Collections and associated research provide services to identify natural science specimens for a range of stakeholders including in the agriculture, health, environmental management and academic sectors
Latest News
What is a herbarium and what is a herbarium specimen?
Do you ever remember picking a little flower, then placing it inside a book? After a few days, you would find a dry and completely flattened flower. With a bit of care, this flower could be stuck down on a board and will remain in this state for hundreds of years. Now...
Webinar recording | Manual Implementation Process
A day in the life…
Here's an opportunity to share with colleagues and members of the NSCF network just how special your work is. How to send your story: Online Follow this link: https://formfaca.de/sm/nMX076dQs or click the green button below Tell us what work you do and include a photo...
New species described from South African collections
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Iconic specimens
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Use of Collections
Shale Gas Exploration SEA
Barcode of Wildlife Project
Red List Assessments
Virtual Museum
The NSCF aims to increase the accessibility and use of natural science collections for research and also to secure collections.
One mechanism of achieving both these objectives is to establish a “virtual museum” which will take the form of detailed images of important specimens such as types, and to also provide digital access to documents such as historical field notes, old catalogue books and accession registers and other documents related to the collections. Over the next two years we will initiate a project to digitise specimens and important documents and to make these available online. We also aim to show some of the collection store rooms online to provide a sense of the scope and scale of these for the public who rarely have the chance to see these hidden treasures.
