Browse the library for information on sustainable gardening, caring for our local ecosystems, and homesteading topics with a science base.
The gift of awareness: What is plant blindness, and how do we combat it?
I first heard of plant blindness (also called plant awareness disparity) years ago while working in the Botany Department of the Museum where I was employed. As an advocate of plants, it’s an invisible, yet tangible foe that I’ve wrestled with on numerous occasions. The specter that embodies plant blindness would manifest itself each time I sought to capture the imagination of Herbarium visitors with the “cool” native northeastern Ohio plants, such as our native carnivorous plants, parasitic plants, or native orchids.
Botany, why is it important to you?
Botany, why is it important to you? I love all things Biology! Throughout my college years, I enjoyed all the degree specific courses I took while exploring the different branches of the discipline of Biology. True, I’d been draw to plants since childhood – from reveling in the bounty of my grandparent’s vegetable gardens to dividing my numerous aloe plants and propagating strawberry begonias. That is, until I took my first introduction to basic plant biology course as an undergrad. That course piqued my interest in plants and how interesting, different, and challenging they are! It was after that when a summer internship in the Botany Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History led to a career as a Botanist. Learn more about the subject of Botany …