Wednesday was the last day on the job for an imaging technician at the state’s largest seed bank.
The Lyon Arboretum's seed conservation lab was awarded a $250,000 federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services three years ago to digitize its collection of rare Hawaiian seeds.
In early April, researchers learned the grant had been terminated. That came after staff from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency met with leaders at the federal agency, who then placed the entire staff of the IMLS on administrative leave.
Nate Kingsley is the seed conservation lab manager at the UH Lyon Arboretum in Mānoa Valley. He's been with the program for six years, and this is the first grant he's had canceled.
The Conversation spoke with Kingsley about what comes next for the digitization project, which was set to end in August. It’s been a resource for conservation scientists around the world.
He said the lion's share of the digitization has been completed, but that the website for the collection needs to be paid for and maintained.
"We'll have to figure something out because it would be a shame to not only the time that we put into it, but just to lose a resource like that," he told HPR.
To view the digitized collection, click here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 30, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
