Student Chapters

BSA Student Chapters

Student Chapters are a great way to network with your peers at your institution of learning through engaging activities as well as take advantage of special BSA discounts including a $10 Student Membership (this is a 50% discount off student membership) and discounted registration to Botany Conferences each year!

To learn more about starting a student chapter click here.

Current BSA Chapters

To contact a student chapter click on the chapter name to email their main contact for more information.

Don't see your Student Chapter on the list?
You can re-add your chapter or start a new chapter by filling out the Student Chapter Application. Click here for more information.

BSA STUDENT CHAPTER NEWS!

University of South Carolina - Student Chapter

The University of South Carolina BSA student chapter completed their 2024 Spring event, a plant walk at 40 Acre Rock in Kershaw, SC. While there the BSA student chapter members visited a waterfall, saw Jack-in-the-pulpit plants living in the hardwood forest of 40 Acre Rock, and experienced a vernal pool community on top of 40 Acre Rock’s massive granite standing rock.

BSA student chapter members near a waterfall during the hike at 40 Acre Rock (Kershaw, SC).

Jack-in-the-pulpit plants living in the hardwood forest of 40 Acre Rock.

Eastern Michigan University - Student Chapter

Last month we held our first plant sale to raise money for the club. The club members propagated all the plants we sold and ran the sale. We sold all sorts of houseplants. It was a huge success and raised a lot of money! We were also able to raise awareness of the club and had several people join after the plant sale. We are holding a second plant sale to sell vegetables that the club members grew from seed soon. We had a pottery painting night a few weeks ago. We had 20 people show up! Everyone painted a pot they were able to take home. We also gave out little succulents for members to put in their newly painted pots. The money raised from the first plant sale bought all the materials for this activity.

Emory Botanical Society - Student Chapter

The Emory BSA Student Chapter hosted several events!

Natural Soap Making with Invasive Hedera helix: we used traditional methods to make natural soap with English Ivy.
Partnership with Emory Ecological Society for Erosion Prevention via Planting Ferns. We planted native ferns on slopes at Lullwater Park that are susceptible to erosion and soil displacement.
Author Q&A - Dr. Cassandra Quave - The Plant Hunter: a scientist's quest for nature's next medicines.
Fern Planting in Lullwater
Botany Around the World: Fall Photo Contest

University of Central Florida - Student Chapter

Since the Summer of 2021, we have put on over 20 botany-themed events, but we picked one of our most recent and exciting events to share today.

Our monthly hikes give members the opportunity to practice plant identification and meet new people with similar interests. At our January monthly hike, Botanist and President of our local Audubon Society chapter, Dr. Deborah Green, joined us as a guest speaker for an educational and social hike at our UCF Arboretum. She taught members how to use a dichotomous key and showed us some of the important species that inhabit the scrubby Florida habitat. Additionally, a student reporter attended the event and interviewed both Dr. Green and attendees on their experience.

To see the interview click here. Click the images below for a larger view.

Send your Student Chapter News to aneely@botany.org and we will showcase it here as well as in our BSA Members Newsletters and on BSA Social Media!

New Student Chapter Application

The following shows the information needed to apply for your student chapter including the responsibilities of student chapters and their officers. There are no costs to starting a Student Chapter. When ready to apply, fill out this form and you will hear back from the BSA Office shortly.

Advisor and Officers

Student chapters must have a Faculty Advisor. This person will help maintain the continuity of the chapter as students graduate and will help provide relevant resources for students. It is recommended for the advisor to be a current BSA member but it is not required.
Choose at least two student Officers: a President and Secretary/Treasurer. You can have more officers if you wish. These two primary officers, however, must have current BSA memberships. Officers will be able to take advantage of the Student Chapter membership rate of $10 and can also work with the BSA office if financial aid is requested (email aneely@botany.org for either scenerio.)
The President will be the primary contact for the BSA Office. The Secretary is responsible for forwarding BSA email communications (such as the monthly Newsletter) to the chapter members who are not current BSA members. Any Student chapter member that is a current BSA member will automatically receive BSA email communications.
Student Chapter Officers will be required to update BSA on any officer changes annually.

Activities

Student Chapters will be required to have at least two botany themed events per year.
We would love to see you organize as many botanical activities as you want, but you are required to report two chapter events. These events are a great way to connect with your chapter around your interest in botany. Some activity ideas are field trips to a museum or botanical garden, hikes or field work in local plant habitats, attending plant science conferences or talks, organizing plant sales or swaps, organizing outreach events to engage the local community in botany, and volunteering to remove invasive species or replant native plants.
Submit details about your two chapter events. Please use the event reporting form, you will need to include a description of the event, a photo at the event, a caption for the photo, and the number of people who attended. In the form you will decide if you want us to share your events with the BSA community via the monthly newsletter, on the Student Chapter webpage, and possibily on BSA social media.

More Ways to Connect

If your chapter uses social media, please share your activities with the tag #BSAStudentChapter
Join us on BSA Slack on the #bsa-student-chapters channel to connect with other chapters around the country and the world!
Encourage chapter members to join BSA! Membership for student chapter members is $10 (a 50% discount off regular student membership). Perks of membership include discounted registration to Botany Conferences, eligibility for BSA student grants, and many other resources.

If you have questions regarding starting your BSA Student Chapter please email aneely@botany.org.

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