糖心Vlog

A group of Plant Biology academics based in Lancaster’s Environment Centre recently hosted a range of exciting events on the theme of botany in celebration of the annual Fascination of Plants Day, including an art exhibition, activity stall, and a take-over of one of the Faculty’s “Pint of Science” public lecture events.

Fascination of Plants Day is a global event, first instigated by the European Plant Science Organisation back in 2012, and is intended to raise awareness about the importance of plant science for agriculture, food security and environmental conservation. Lancaster’s contribution to the event was spearheaded by PhD students Eduardo Zelanda Lau and Julia Monserrat Relano, and boasted an extended itinerary of events that spanned the course of several weeks in the month of May.

On the dedicated Fascination of Plants Day on the 18^th May, plant and soil scientists staged a takeover of one of the “Pint of Science” evenings being held at the Gregson Centre, with three talks delivered on the importance of soil and plant research being undertaken at the University. Professor John Quinton, Professor of Soil Science, presented “Unseen earth: exploring the value of soil”, whilst Dr Nathália Carvalho explored the importance of the Amazon Rainforest in its regulation of climate change – and how climate change is in turn affecting it. Dr Armida Gjindali rounded off the evening with her talk on how plants are able to survive in our ever-changing environment in “Turning Up the Heat: Plants at the Frontier of Climate Change”.

On the 23^rd May, the team took to Market Square in Lancaster City Centre to spread the joy of plants with the general public, inviting families to join in with a range of interactive activities including a microscopy quiz and a voyage on the journey wheat takes from seed to bread! Beginning on the 23^rd May, the team also launched an art exhibition hosted at Assembly Arts on “Plant Fascination”, which invited local artists and researchers to explore and showcase their diverse perspectives on plants both to each other and the wider general public.

All of the events were phenomenal successes, with the Pint of Science night being completely sold out, over 100 members of the public attending the stall day, and the exhibit receiving a steady stream of visitors throughout its week-long run.

On the success of the events, Eduardo commented: “Fascination of Plants Day was a great excuse to highlight how relevant plants are in our day-to-day and bring the LEC into town and share not only our efforts to tackle real-world problems, but also our appreciation for plants. Overall, the exhibition was well received by the community and provided an opportunity for researchers to engage with local people. It brought together postgraduate students, staff members, and local artists to explore how plants are seen, imagined, and represented. This diversity in participation was reflected in the artworks, medium, and their subjects used to express how plants fascinated each participant. We also had an amazing day with the stall at Market Square. People could engage with us through different activities, from discovering their inner plant to finding out which products come from important crops. The entire team was pleased with the reception and with how interested people were in learning a little more about plants. Our visitors left the stall with a small plant in hand and a big smile!”