Barbara Varnum-Finney loves learning about life, all the way down to the cellular level. After earning a Ph.D. in developmental biology, studying a slim mold (Dictyostelium discoideum) at the University of Iowa, Barbara moved out to Seattle and spent most of her career as a research scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Concerned about increasing threats to native plant habitats, Barbara switched the microscope for a hand lens in her free time, joining Rare Care in 2012. Over 14 years, she has contributed a total of 46 monitoring reports and four seed collections, logging over 500 hours of her time. Barbara does it all here at Rare Care: monitoring, seed collecting, and seed cleaning. This year, she came in twice a week, every week, for several months to help clean a backlog of seeds for the Miller Seed Vault. Barbara loves the hunt of relocating rare plants and the adventures that come with it, helping get her out to explore Washington State’s wilderness. Thank you, Barbara, for being such a consistently dedicated volunteer with Rare Care!