Project 2:
Accidental Discoveries
Inquiry 2
Subject: Plants: a Touch of History, a Discovery of Transportation, and a Glimpse of Compassion.
1. Title: For the love of nature: Exploring the importance of species diversity and micro-variables associated with favorite outdoor places.
This study was conducted to examine a certain group of people’s physical and experiential connection to their favorite natural environments. The study had them fill out an online questionnaire in which they had to identify their favorite places in nature and explain what they loved about those places, whether it was for the setting, activity, or the benefit. It turned out that ‘fascination’ was the most popular reason. The majority of people were most interested in plants, wildlife, and native species that are found in their favorite outdoor spots.
Work Cited
Schebella, M. F., Weber, D., Lindsey, K., & Daniels, C. B. (2017). For the love of nature: Exploring the importance of species diversity and micro-variables associated with favorite outdoor places. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02094
2. Title: Conclusions – Plants for Thoughts.
This book covers interesting topics related to plants throughout history. It covers both the positives, such as economic development, as well as some negatives, such as slavery related to plants. Over time, plants have traveled over many miles, across seas to adapt and be grown outside of their natural habitat, both for nutritional benefits and for status.
Work Cited
Chevalier, A., Peña-Chocarro, L., & Marinova, E. (2014). Conclusions – Plants for Thoughts. In Chevalier A., Peña-Chocarro L., & Marinova E. (Eds.), Plants and People: Choices and Diversity through Time (pp. 467-470). Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dwfp.14
3. Title: Plant Love Stories: Share Your Story and Grow a Movement.
This book mentions the emotional connection between people and plants. It includes a collection of plant love stories from a handful of ecologists who spoke at a conference. They spoke about the plants that they love to study, plants that have inspired their careers, challenged their research and shifted their perspective. They hope to encourage others to consider the role of plants in their own work and life. They also shared how to go about bringing plants out of the background, and into the foreground of our lives.
Work Cited
Mackenzie, C., Barak, R., Bayer, S., Bletz, M., Brunson, M., Dudney, J., . . . Waring, E. (2020). Plant Love Stories: Share Your Story and Grow a Movement. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 101(2), 1-9. doi:10.2307/26912723
4. Title: Improving the quality of life in cities using community gardens: from benefits for members to benefits for all local residents.
This article compares the benefits of community gardens to its members versus the evaluated net social benefits for residents. The purpose of the case study is to hopefully gain greater support from city governments to support city community gardens. I like the idea of community gardens, they provide a place for the community to gather while providing nutritional sources to those who may not have otherwise had access to them.
Work Cited
Dubová, L., & Macháč, J. (2019). Improving the quality of life in cities using community gardens: from benefits for members to benefits for all local residents. GeoScape, 13(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2019-0005
5. Title: The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved the Plant Kingdom.
I chose to dive deeper into this text because the idea of a simple box moving a plant kingdom caught my attention. I also love a good historical story that could teach us all something fun and interesting. Wardian cases were like miniature greenhouses made up of wood and glass that were used to transport live plants. In the 1870s someone by the name of Charles Sprague Sargent had packed a Wardian case full of ferns from Colorado and California. He had sent the box across the Atlantic ocean to the Royal Botanic Gardens in England in hopes to impress his colleagues. Sargent included a letter that had asked his collogues to take what they wanted and if there were any left to send them off to Paris. He writes on page 3 “I am sorry to trouble you in this way, but unfortunately we have not as yet any sure way of transporting living plants to Paris.” This was the revolution of plant transportation. The Wardian case made it possible for the trade of live plants around the world. Botanists kept in contact by writing letters to one another and sending some of their own plant collections and seeds to each other. However, as one would expect, there were some challenges when it came to transporting the plants, such as keeping the plants alive on long sea voyages.
From the 1890s and onwards, Wardian cases filled with a variety of plants were successfully transported from continent to continent. Something that wasn’t possible until the Wardian case invention. Plants were being transported from countries like Australia where temperatures were high to Great Britain where temperatures were low. Tea plants were transported from China to India. Other countries included in plant trade were Egypt, Hong Kong, Tonga, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Berlin, Jamaica, and Guyana. The case was put to good use as they transported everything from coffee to orchids, tree ferns, mangoes, oil palms, cocoa, rubber, and bananas.
I enjoyed this text, it helped me to appreciate the vast amount of ways that we can ship products in today's day and age. While they were just discovering how to transport live plants, we are able to order live plants off Amazon to be delivered in 2 days, or better yet, we can order a bunch of roses off 1800flowers to be delivered to our loved one on Valentine's day. This text makes me want to go back and research the reactions of people when they had received a Wardian Case with plants that they had never seen before. How did they take care of them? How did the plants adapt to their new environment?
Work Cited
Keogh, L. (2017). The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved the Plant Kingdom. Arnoldia, 74(4), 2-13. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26349763
All About That Green Life
Blended fruits and vegetables to increase my daily greens intake.
Home Grown Versus Store Bought
Oh My Soul Vegetable Garden
This is a local South African restaurant located in NoDa, Charlotte. They are a Vegan restaurant who cook with fresh produce picked right out of their community garden.
Walmart Selection
Not exactly home grown, but a more convenient way to purchase greens.
Plant-Based Alternatives
Incorporating more plant-based items into my diet. These are a few of my favorite.
Thoughts..
Are you willing to make the switch?
Is plant based more cost effective?
GMO versus Organic?
What other plant-based items could we consider incorporating into our lives?
Can plant-based meat alternatives be part of a healthy and sustainable diet?
Photos by Jessica Franco
