How do we inspire youngsters to feel passionate about plant science? By expertly incorporating it into the curriculum, discusses Rachel Anderson.

Prising my children away from their digital devices can sometimes be more difficult than removing the ring off Gollum’s finger. Alas, the Blessed Realm of Fortnite and TikTok are clearly far more alluring than a stroll around the local park.

Perhaps our screen-centric culture is one of the reasons why “plant blindness” – the inability to notice the plants in one’s environment – is so common. Arguably, many kids are far more likely to be able to name different Pokémon characters than they are types of trees.

Science and Plants for Schools (SAPS), which is part of the Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme, aims to address this issue – not, mind you, by waving a Gandalf-style magic wand. Rather, it is cleverly incorporating plant science into young people’s formal teaching, including primary, secondary, further and higher education.

“Taking a road unforeseen”

Dan Jenkins, head of programme for SAPS, reveals that one of its main priorities is to support teachers across the UK with the teaching of plant science – as well as to work with school science technicians, who can be the gatekeepers of what practical work is carried out in schools.

He says: “Even though many science teachers would have studied biology, it’s perfectly possible to do that and not cover much plant science at all. So, for many of these teachers and techs they may not have covered it since they were at school themselves. And even then, they may not have been particularly enthused by it. It’s therefore about building that confidence and enthusiasm and showing how plant science can support the teaching they are doing in a lot of different ways.”

Helpfully, the organisation offers online continuing professional development courses for teachers, such as “Inspiring Students with Plant Science.” It also supports the existing science curricula with a range of resources – from posters and animations for teachers to show their pupils to technical notes and support advice developed in consultation with other teachers and technicians.

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future”

Annoyingly, the UK’s jam-packed curriculum has less wiggle-room than a hobbit hole. This makes it difficult for teachers to stray off the beaten track. So, the SAPS team supports learning core science through plants.

Dan reveals: “One of the teachers that we work with developed the Plants R Mint suite of teaching resources [for A-level biology]. At the beginning of the year, he gave every student a mint cutting and they kept that cutting for two years. For two years of teaching, in every single lesson, he spoke about a mint plant.”

“He would refer to it as many times as he could – such as when they were learning about taste and the biochemistry behind that or [how we need] photosynthesis to survive. So, we are also thinking about how we can pepper plants through everything. Because most areas of biology can be taught through a plant context.”

Another SAPS resource is helping to pupils to appreciate the fact that plants – like animals and humans – also succumb to disease. Students are asked to find some brambles and see if they can spot violet bramble rust under the microscope. “They [the plants] have to fight it off, they don’t just give in, and that helps students appreciate that plants are a little bit more active,” notes Dan.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

Obviously, I’m preaching to the converted when I say that horticulture and agriculture can offer fantastic career paths. And whilst it’s tempting for me to stand on top of a Mordor-style mountain and shout about it, SAPS is deploying a much more sensible approach.

Dan reveals: “We know that horticulture and agriculture are going to help solve some of the grand challenges that we are facing at the moment, and what we want is for the student to have an awe and a wonder about that and have the intrigue to want to go and do that. We know that, through some of the work we do, they are fascinated and change tack in terms of potential career aspirations.”

Cleverly, SAPS is helping to generate this intrigue through online engagement. (Perhaps my children will not have to prised away from their screens after all, Precious?) SAPS has, for example, developed an online course for 16 to 19 years old on “Improving Food Production with Agricultural Technology and Plant Biotechnology”. The course – which has been live for about a year now – has already attracted more than 5,000 learners and inspired some A-level biology students to re-think their career plans.

And so, as it continues on its mission to put plants on the educational map, the SAPS team is keen to work with our industry. From finding out what we as an industry are doing to better educate people about the business of growing plants, to gathering real-life stories from growers about their experience with plant diseases such as Xylella, there are many reasons why the SAPS team would love to hear from you.

Please contact Dan Jenkins, or Alex Jenkin on [email protected].

Dan was speaking at the Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s 2020 autumn webinar series.

This blog contains extracts from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.