The university is full of all sorts of oddities and curiosities, all of them telling their own stories. This tale is about how a long-forgotten cabinet of plant slides, which had been rescued from a skip by staff member Tom Hartman ended up being restored and displayed in their own exhibition, thanks to your donations to our Cascade programme.
Budding plant scientist student, Eleanor Kilpatrick was in her first year when she came across the collection of plant slides and was moved by their beauty.
She dedicated her time to sorting through the old collection of slides, cleaning them up and generating a database. The more she went through, the more beautiful pieces she uncovered. She thought that they deserved to be shared with her wider community rather than hidden away.
“I have always been passionate about plants and nature but know that as a scientist I am in a privileged position and not everyone is aware of the beauty and importance of them,” said Eleanor. “The specimens that were saved really inspired me to bring what is only usually seen by scientists under the microscope to the public.
“That’s when I applied to the Cascade grant scheme. Our dream came true and Green Unseen flourished, thanks to Cascade.”
Eleanor organised a very successful exhibition at Lakeside Arts Centre, showcasing the slides alongside other pieces of art and herbarium specimens. None of which would have been possible without your generosity.
She hopes that the exhibition and project will have educated people and “reignited a spark of recognition of our shared connection to nature”.