Episode 247: Botanical Education

This episode I’m speaking with Seb Stroud. Seb is based at Leeds University and is part of the Ecology & Evolution Group, where his research looks at many different topics including botany, freshwater ecology, ecosystem structures and urban landscapes. He recently co-authored a research paper which looks at the state of botanical education and that’s what I was particularly interested in chatting about today.

Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woolly Aphids

What We Talk About 

What is the extinction of botanical education? Why is it happening?

The effects of losing our tradition of botanical education

Plant blindness

The UN’s sustainable development goals and future funding

The impact of botanical education extinction on climate change, food security and our economy

What is actually being done about it? 

Natural history GCSE

Equity and accessibility in environmental education

The UK as a nation of gardeners and nature lovers…? 

About Sebastian Stroud

Links

Botanical education paper

Seb Stroud on Twitter

Botanical University Challenge

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

RBGE’s PropaGate Learning - Online Courses

BSBI

Kew’s Grow Wild

Botanists are Disappearing with Seb Stroud - The Conversation, July 2022

CW Studio 

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Modern Plant Hunters

The State of Horticulture

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