The Stillinger Trust, established in 1957, funds expeditions for the purpose of enhancing collections-based botanical research at the University of Idaho and growing collections in the Stillinger Herbarium.

Application and Selection Process

The University of Idaho Stillinger Herbarium is an international resource for research on the flora of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest and represents an archive of the diversity of Idaho plants, fungi and lichens through space and time. The collection supports research in floristics, systematics, evolution, ecology and conservation.

The mission of the Stillinger Herbarium is to:

Document the flora of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest through space and time.
Facilitate and support research and education in plant systematics, floristics and ecology at U of I.
Serve as a repository for voucher specimens from botanical research conducted at U of I.
Serve as a reference for the identification of plant diversity, and
Provide access to the collection and its associated data for the scientific community.

Funding Requirements:

Expeditions may be funded through this program, with no requirement for cost sharing or matching funds. Allowable costs include travel, lodging and per diem costs, small items of equipment, supplies, and student and temporary help costs associated with the expedition. Faculty salaries, student fees and travel to professional meetings are not allowable.

Typical expedition awards range from $1,000 to $10,000 per proposed project for a duration of twelve to twenty-four months, but awards of up to $15,000 will be considered, based on the availability of funds. Projects that present a strong argument for additional funding in support of larger expeditions or long-term continuing projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The purpose of the funding is to contribute to the overall collection of specimens held in the Stillinger Herbarium. As such, specimens collected become the property of the herbarium and must be delivered in a condition suitable to the director (i.e., pressed, dried, specimens with labels, and/or label data in digital format). All durable equipment and tools purchased during an expedition become the property of the herbarium at the conclusion of the expedition.