As Seen on Rare Plant Academy

During the 2020 Southeastern Partners in Plant Conservation conference, Ph.D. candidate and podcaster Matt Candeias shared his thoughts on combating plant blindness. Plant biologists have often tried to convince the public that plants are important by drawing attention to their value to humans (see this above in this newsletter issue). This approach has limits in which plants it applies to and the effectiveness of getting people to care about plants.  To succeed in saving plants, it is important to inspire people to care about them. Matt suggests fostering a new-found respect for plants as living, breathing, fighting organisms upon which all other forms of life depend. Plants have a wealth of stories of struggle for survival that can captivate. The best approach is to vary the types of stories shared – no story is universally beloved, and different people have different interests. Hear more of Matt’s thoughts on science communication for plants on Rare Plant Academy.