Fascination of Plants Day

Tuesday, 02 June 2015

The unstoppable Fascination of Plants event team on the day

On Monday 18 May, the University of Reading took part in the International Fascination of Plants Day - a world-wide event to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture, in sustainably producing food, as well as for horticulture, forestry, and all of the non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy, and pharmaceuticals. 

This is the first year that the University of Reading has participated in the day. Our event attracted University staff, undergraduate students and more than 130 schoolchildren. Led by Dr Jonathan Mitchley (SBS) and Dr Macarena Cárdenas (SAGES) who combined their knowledge of plants of the past through fossils with present-day plants to create an enlightening experience for all who visited the event.

“Thank you for teaching me about the monkey puzzle tree, I never knew there was such a plant, I've also never seen fossils before and the patterns were beautiful.” (child aged 7) 

For more information about the event and future activities please contact:

Dr Jonathan Mitchley 
Dr Macarena Cárdenas