I was delighted to take part earlier this month in an event entitled The Habits of Weeds, organised by the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art as part of their "Gardening the Mind" series. Aimed at showing how urban plants, often cast aside as ‘weeds’, can be beneficial to both our ecosystem and our health, the … Continue reading “The Habits of Weeds” – an online event for BALTIC
News
“More Than Weeds” – an update for BSBI Annual Exhibition Meeting
EDIT: The video of my talk is now available on BSBI's Youtube page! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKdJT1xfoAU One year after launching "More Than Weeds" , I will be presenting an update about the project at the Annual Exhibition Meeting of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, tomorrow at 11:20am. There will also be a virtual exhibit if … Continue reading “More Than Weeds” – an update for BSBI Annual Exhibition Meeting
The flora of London’s pavements, a talk on October 15
I gave a talk on the flora of London's pavements on Thursday, October 15, as part of London Natural History Society's series of Virtual Natural History Talks. The pavements and tree pits of London are home to hundreds of plant species. Often dismissed as “weeds”, these plants form a key part of urban biodiversity, supporting … Continue reading The flora of London’s pavements, a talk on October 15
“Green Pavements” on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4's Open Country programme featured an episode entitled "Green Pavements" yesterday, August 6. In the company of journalist Jane Perrone, naturalist Phil Gates and botanist Trevor Dines, embark for a safari on urban flora! Why do the weeds in our pavements deserve our attention? Helen Mark presents a pavement safari in search of … Continue reading “Green Pavements” on BBC Radio 4
More Than Weeds…on the other side of the world!
I was delighted to be invited to talk on Radio New Zealand's "Saturday Morning" programme yesterday about More Than Weeds. While the flora of the country may be very different to ours in the UK, the challenges faced by cities - biodiversity loss, climate change, residents lacking access to nature - are the same. Adapting … Continue reading More Than Weeds…on the other side of the world!
“Wilding” our streets – a talk for Lambeth Country Show
As my local country show, Lambeth Country Show, had to go virtual this year, I gave a short talk on "weeds" in our cities, and on how learning to live with wild plants could benefit us in many ways. Watch it here, and please feel free to send me your comments! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvbbniiIrnE&feature=emb_title
“Nature beneath our feet” – a virtual talk on June 16
On June 16, I'll be giving a virtual talk on my favourite topic...of course, that's pavement plants! Hundreds of plant species are thought to be growing on the pavements of London. These plants are often dismissed as “weeds”, yet they form a key part of our urban biodiversity. I will introduce some of the common … Continue reading “Nature beneath our feet” – a virtual talk on June 16
More than Weeds inspiring other initiatives around the world
Since the Guardian article was published, I have received many emails from readers abroad, who've been inspired to go and look for plants in their own cities. Some have taken their chalk sticks and started chalking names too, which is fantastic! In Germany, the hashtags #MehralsUnkraut und #Krautschau (literally "Weed show") are becoming popular: https://twitter.com/BSGGoettingen/status/1257316666129575944 … Continue reading More than Weeds inspiring other initiatives around the world
More than Weeds featured in the Guardian
I am delighted that "More than Weeds" has been featured in an article in the Guardian, as part of the "Wild Cities" week: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/01/not-just-weeds-how-rebel-botanists-are-using-graffiti-to-name-forgotten-flora-aoe If you've landed on my website from the Guardian article, feel free to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for "weed" pictures, advice, science and help with identification!
Our rich and diverse urban flora: an exciting study from Paris
Results of an exciting new study, focusing on the flora of the Paris area have been published. The aim of the study was to better understand the "filters" that allow some species to establish successfully in our cities (while other plant species may fail to establish). These filters can be environmental (cities pose challenges such … Continue reading Our rich and diverse urban flora: an exciting study from Paris
