Wednesday, 11 May 2022
How can you grow food without soil? What does a root x-ray look like? How do plants sense their environment? Scientists will be answering these questions and more at the Fascination of Plants Day taking place on the 18th May.
Plant sciences at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington campus will be throwing open their doors to welcome people from across the region and showcase some of the amazing research projects and state-of-the-art facilities.
Fascination in Plants Day is an international event with scientific institutions, universities, botanical gardens and museums, together with schools, farmers and companies offering a variety of plant-based interactive events and activities for all interested people from toddlers to grandparents.
The event at the University of Nottingham will take visitors on a journey through the world of plant sciences where they will be able to get hands on with activities including: using a microscope to see what happens when a Ladybird comes across an aphid, staining Duckweeds to see if they contain useful substances and a growth experiment in vertical farming.
There will also be the opportunity to see the robot technology in action in the Hounsfield Facility with x-rays of plant roots and a tour of the glasshouses where researchers use the latest technology to find out how plants sense their environment.
With the urgent challenge of combatting climate change, plant science and the problems we are trying to solve at the University of Nottingham have never been more important. We’re very excited to be opening our doors for visitors as part of this international event and have put together a programme of interactive, fun activities that we hope will show people just how interesting and important plants are and inspire them to think more about plants in their everyday lives.
The fascinating world of plants is organised internationally by European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO). It was first launched in 2012, followed by FoPDs from 2013 to 2019 at which over 860 events were organised in over 51 countries world-wide, attracting many thousand visitors. This coordinated activity aims to convey that plant science is of critical significance to social, environmental and economic issues on our Earth today and in future.
The event at the University of Nottingham is free to attend between 10am – 2pm.
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Sina Fischer on Sina.Fischer@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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