Dear Entomologists,

The purpose of this email is to provide an update about the status of crowdfunding for a project to survey the native forests of South Africa with citizen science. My name is Joey Hulbert and I am pleased to say we have reached 84% ($4,185 USD) of our goal. More than 57 people have made pledges, including a few forest health specialists. We still need to raise ~$800 USD so I am asking that you help share the project one more time. Please help us reach our goal by sharing the project via social networking, email, or speaking with colleagues and stakeholders. 

By backing the project, individuals will be able to follow the progress through regular updates and direct communication. Backers will also have many opportunities to improve the project by contributing ideas and feedback for problem solving and the project design.

If you want to listen to a short (~4:00) discussion about the project, this is a link to an interview I had on NPR: http://klcc.org/post/osu-microbiologist-heads-south-africa

During the course of the crowdfunding campaign, I have also created several open access lab-notes (pseudo blog posts) that are complimentary to the project.

·  How do you teach someone about microorganisms without a microscope? https://experiment.com/u/E9e9aQ

·  Surveying for plant destroyers https://experiment.com/u/52APhQ

·  "Fight them on the beaches or let the new order begin" https://experiment.com/u/8KXEFg

·  Six reasons to back this research https://experiment.com/u/Lc1E7w

·  What is citizen science https://experiment.com/u/WETOKA

·  A recent excursion into Sudden Oak Death infected lands https://experiment.com/u/22omNA

I hope this project provides an example of the opportunities with crowdfunding. Feel free to contact me if you are considering using crowdfunding—I would be happy to share what I have learned and provide recommendations. I can also direct you to several examples of previously funded projects regarding invasive insects such as the Emerald ash borer.

Thank you to everyone who has helped already. I am excited to start this project and I am confident we will reach our goal with your help. Please share the project one more time.