Fascination of Plants Day 2012 1 Published 22.10.2012

The first international "Fascination of Plants Day" (FoPD) was arranged with great success on May 18

th this year. Launched under the umbrella of EPSO,

acting as an intellectual and an international coordinator of this initiative, the Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) has been adopted by 39 countries, 29 from Europe and 10 from North- and South America, Asia, Australasia and Africa.

Plants were the main target for public attention. More than 580 institutions – ranging from botanical gardens to research centres – hosted different kinds of public and media events, all closely related to basic plant science, agricultural research, environmental conservation, biodiversity, education and arts. The public as well as journalists and the media were invited to attend press conferences, to discuss basic and applied research in plant biology, to explore laboratories, to visit greenhouses, field stations, field sites, museums, and interactive exhibitions.

The importance of having plants on our planet was in the spotlight worldwide and the public enjoyed the various ways of illustrating the importance of plants for our life on earth and our daily existence. The goal of this activity was to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthusiastic about the importance of plant science for agriculture, in sustainably production of food, as well as for horticulture, forestry, and all of the non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy, and pharmaceuticals.

Many plant science institutions, universities, botanical gardens, and museums, together with farmers and companies, opened their doors, with a variety of plant-based events for the whole family. Hereafter you can read a selection of FoPD success stories in the participating countries.

But before doing so, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all partners and sponsors of this event. At the global level these were: the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS); European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA); Plants of the Future European Technology Platform (Plant ETP); KWS SAAG AG ; Society for Experimental Biology (SEB); Plant Conservation Day.

In Argentina, the FoPD was organised by an enthusiastic team from the Center for Agriculture and Livestock Research (CIAP, INTA) and the National Research Council (CONICET). The activities were designed around transgenic plants and targeted to high school kids. There were stands with plants and posters, a video and a round table debate. Nearly 120 students attended the event and everyone – including the organisers – was very pleased with the outcome!

Contact: Edith Taleisnik

From getting hands on with salt-tolerant samphire plants, to a lecture on 3D plant imaging and a tour of an Aboriginal Garden, events in Australia celebrating the FoPD gave Australians a new insight into plants. Highlights included plant science experiments in the Q-lab at Questacon, a public lecture on global food security at the University of Queensland, two art exhibitions and an online video competition. Over 40 school students around Australia created videos explaining why they find plants fascinating. The winning

videos can be watched here. Contact: Arwen Cross

FACTS AND FIGURES by 18.5.2012

May 18, 2012: the first and international

Fascination of Plants Day

250,000 plant species 40,746 unique visitors online 28,000 plant researchers and staff belong to EPSO membership 3,100 personal EPSO members 587 followers on Twitter 583 institutions signed up for FoPD 577 events at FoPD 227 research institutes and universities represented by EPSO

86 UK institutions signed up for FoPD 64 Portuguese events announced for FoPD 51 Italian events announced for FoPD 39 countries signed up for FoPD: ARG, AUS, AT, BE, BG, BRA, CAN, Chile, CHI, Croatia, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IND, IE, IL, IT, JAP, LI, NL, NZ, NIG, NO, PL, PT, SB, SV, ES, SE, CH, TK, UK, UKR 34 Polish institutions signed up for FoPD 31 German institutions signed up for FoPD 21 Japanese events on FoPD 10 countries outside of Europe signed up for FoPD 4 National patronages: German ministers Annette Schavan (Education and Research) and Ilse Aigner (Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection), Czech minister Petr Bendl, Tim Smit - Founder of the Eden Project

Fascination of Plants Day 2012 2 Published 22.10.2012

President Heinz Fischer from Austria planted a chestnut tree in Langenlois to mark the day. In the city centre of Vienna an exhibition and hands-on experiments were coordinated by researchers from the University of

Natural Resources and Life Sciences. The Gregor-Mendel-Institute was holding an arts competition for young people and awarded prizes for the best contributions at a ceremony in the Natural

History Museum. Several research institutes opened their doors for schoolchildren and interested public.

Contact: Eva Stoger

The “Fascination of Plants Day” kick-off event in the European Parliament, 9.5.2012, was organised by Plant ETP (European Technology Platform Plants for the Future). This special event offered interactive exhibitions that took place throughout the day and was a big success! Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) as well as guests to the parliament from academia, industry, farmers and policy visited the interactive exhibition. They discovered for instance how wheat was developed by man towards the bread wheat of today; how smart plant roots are and how equipment you may know from medicine is used by plant scientists to watch and improve root systems; what is molecular farming about; where does the taste of tomatoes come from and many more exciting experiments.

Three discussion sessions with MEPs Giles Chichester, Britta Reimers, Mairead McGuinness and Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Lauro Panella from the Cabinet Tajani / European Commission and representatives of the three major associations represented in the Plant ETP (EPSO, Copa Cogeca, ESA) presented their views on “The fascinating world of plant research”, “The extraordinary abilities of plants as primary producers of biomass for agriculture” and “Plant breeding – Starting point for a competitive European agri-food chain”. More information and pictures of the event can be found on the EPSO website. Contacts: Silvia Travella (Plant ETP); Karin Metzlaff (EPSO)

In Brazil, the FoPD was celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Eliseu Maciel School of Agronomy- Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL), the oldest School of

Agronomy in the country, where a set of posters were presented by research groups working on plants. The groups included plant breeders, plant physiologists and plant biotechnologists, plant geneticists and soil scientists from UFPEL and also from Embrapa, one of the 40 Centres of Agricultural Research in Brazil. In addition, some interactive activities such as DNA extraction, microscope imaging and videos were shown. The expositors were also joined by a group of extension from EMATER-RS and an ecological fair was set up. Visitors came from several Middle and High School classes from different locations all over the country. A

moving exposition was set up in order to allow more students to be touched by the power of plants. Contact: Antonio Costa de Oliveira

Chile, with all its natural richness and diversity, from deserts in the far north, the central valley rich in fruit trees and vineyards, the great extensions of traditional crops and native forests of the south, the Patagonian Region with all its rivers and sources of freshwater, together with the glaciers of the far south, all joined in the first celebration of the FoPD. 10 institutions led by the Agriaquaculture Nutritional Genomic Center, CGNA, joined the successful initiative and it is expected that the

next FoPD will add many more! Contact: Loreto Moya

19 institutions in the Czech Republic joined FoPD with 16 events including various activities. One of the biggest events was “The Magic and the Power of the Plant World” organised in the Botanical Garden of Charles University in Prague showing hands-on activities and demonstrations aimed on plant functioning with more than 2,000 visitors. The Czech programme was held under the auspices of Petr Bendl, Minister of Agriculture, who personally planted a Tilia cordata, the Czech national tree at the Crop

Research Institute. Contact: Jan Kolar

The most amazing feature of the FoPD in Hungary was the diversity of participants – from 24 organisations – and the range of organised events. In addition to the open days organised in several research institutions, experimental and field demonstrations, excursions,

scientific symposia, virtual and real photo exhibitions, film projection, adoption of municipal parks, gardening among many

others were organised.

Contact: Attila Fehér

In India, the FoPD was organised with great enthusiasm by 10 institutions across India under the national coordination of Prof. Neera Bhalla Sarin, School of

Life Sciences, JNU. The events organised for the general public, especially the school children, generated curiosity and ignited interest regarding plants and plant science research and also created awareness about the important roles that plants play in the well-being of other living creatures and in preserving a healthy environment

on the earth. Contact: Mohd. Aslam Yusuf

Fascination of Plants Day 2012 3 Published 22.10.2012

The FoPD was celebrated with a variety of events throughout Ireland led by Bota-ny and Plant Science at NUI Galway. At NUI Galway, more than 60 children from local schools gathered to hear plant-inspired stories by Rab Fulton and Maria Tuohy, the University Organic Garden was open to visitors, there was a national photography competition and the winning photographs were exhibited at the ‘Our Fascinating Flo-ra’ photography and art exhibition, running from 18-23 May 2012. Other events around the country included ‘Burren Walks’ led by Stephen Ward of BurrenBeo, the ‘Atomic Walk’ at The National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin (Matthew Jebb) and ‘Ireland’s Lilliputian Flo-ra: Mosses and liverworts of the Phoenix Park’ (Daniel Kelly, Trinity College Dublin). More information on all these events can be found here. On 23 May, a tree climbing event enabled people to see plants from a

different perspective. Contact: Zoe Popper

From North to Southern Italy more than 60 events were organised with great enthusiasm, such as dis-cussion forums, exhibitions, drawing contests for chil-dren and demonstration laboratories. The organising team in Milan developed a mov-ie based on slides provided by FoPD enthusiasts throughout the world, which can be seen on YouTube . The event was given attention both at the national radio and television. Further-more, Martin Kater, the national coordinator, presented the FoPD in the Senate of the

Republic in Rome. Contact: Martin Kater

FoPD gathered as well great momentum in Japan! Public seminars, hands-on experi-ments, Science Café’s, exhi-bitions and open days were held across 22 institutions spanning the full-length of Japan. Wide promotion was achieved with the support of

10 different academic societies, and the nation-wide distribution of 10,000 flyers promoting the FoPD

and all events in Japan. Contact: Derek Goto

Small and green Lithuania is proud by beauty of preserved natural landscapes. Still persisting here is special link of people to nature – a strong man is compared to the oak tree, a nice woman to the linden tree, a young girl is tenderly called by diminutive name of the lily flower, and young man of the clover. The num-ber of FoDP visitors in 5 cities in Lithuania was between

6000 and 10 000 people. Contact: Vida MIldaziene

In Norway, there were events in Oslo, Ås and Tromsø. In all places, the numbers of the general pub-lic who turned up were great: a steady flow of people all through the day in Oslo for their 12 events and in Trom-

sø for their one event, and a university park with plenty of people of all ages in Ås. The events varied from walks in the beautiful parks of the Universities, through quizzes, lectures, tasting of microalgae, sale of bedding plants produced by stu-dents. The public seemed very happy about the arrangements and the journal-ists were enlightened on the importance

of plants in the world. An article on the importance of GM tools for plant science was published in the local newspaper. The universities involved (Universities of Oslo and Tromsø; the Norwegian University of Life Sci-ences), as well as the Norwegian research institutes of Crop Science and Forest and Landscapes – the latter three from Campus Ås – all support that the event will

be repeated next year! Contact: Trine Hvoslef-Eide

In Portugal, FoPD was enthusiastically embraced by researchers, private sector, public and media. More than 60 institutions including universi-ties, research institutes, botani-cal gardens, schools, and com-panies were involved, organis-ing many fascinating activities such as workshops about aro-matic and medicinal plants,

shows of plant art, guided tours, among many others.

Contact: Nelson Saibo

In Switzerland, a wide variety of activities were promoted: special tours and exhibits, city safaris, lab openings and events for children were offered in botanical gardens. All partici-pants presented work, space or generous sponsorship contribu-tions around plants and plant sciences. (Picture to the right: Pepper, Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service.) The Swiss success story is based on the voluntary commitment of countless vo-lunteers – check out the list of participants and an over-view of their activities. We are especially pleased that the events organised by the Swiss Plant Science Web (SPSW) have borne fruit: a travelling exhibition showing the importance of the Solanaceae as medicinal plants, toured in various botanical gardens in Switzerland, du-ring the ’Botanica’ week. In addition, around 180 Swiss children, together with teachers from various age groups and researchers, got closer to the theme "plant". What came out of it are wonderful, lively dra-wings. The children's drawings were photographed by a pro-fessional photographer and are now available all together in the booklet ‘The fascinating world of plants’. SPSW would like to thank all those involved for their hard work! Contact: Franziska Humair

Fascination of Plants Day 2012 4 Published 22.10.2012

From Jodrell Bank Observatory to Stonehenge, 90 organisations took part in events in the UK. Schools, nationwide organisations, botanic gardens, research institutes and many universities took up the challenge to fascinate people with plants. Individuals or groups of organisations linked together locally to combine forces, all led by UK spokesperson Tim Smith of the Eden Project and coordinated through The John Innes Centre. Photos of the event can be found on

twitter. Contact: Dee Rawsthorne

In Ukraine, visitors were literally trapped in a microworld, discovering living and stained plant samples using conventional light/confocal microscopes in a “Green Microcosm” workshop provided by young scientists from the

Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics. The capturing lecture “Plant Biotechnology: Perspectives and challenges for the future“ raised GM-plants-related issues in global food production. An art-herbarium exhibition was the creative background for all the activities. A talk on self-defence mechanisms of plant cells astonished the audience by the existence of a plant immunity system and “self-sacrifice” on cellular level. The lecture “Plants in Space” provided by the leading scientist from the Institute of Botany highlighted the common space plant experiment set up during the Ukraine–USA (NASA) collaboration. The attendants of the field trip “Spring Forest Biodiversity / Edible Wild Plants” gained knowledge about the Ukrainian and European Red Book plants’ need to be protected and also learned something new about wild edible plants.

Contact: Yuliya Krasylenko

At the EPSO General Meeting in Copenhagen in June, the attendants were crying out for another event in 2013, ‘to keep the public warm’, so to speak. Jan Kellmann and Karin Metzlaff did a marvelous job in coordinating the events and their enthusiasm was very contagious! However, Jan could not take this task upon himself another year, so Trine Hvoslef-Eide decided to take the challenge together with Karin!

In the meantime, already 20 countries confirmed to participate again on 18 May 2013!!

We look forward to more of you joining our ranks! You can do this for your institute, university, botanical garden, museum, ministry, company, farming organization, garden centre, school, kindergarten, theatre. In fact every institution or part of it related to plants are very welcome to join this initiative and organise

exciting events related to plants attracting and interacting with the public on 18 May 2013! We promise to help you with materials which will make the advertisements and some of the presentations on the day easier for you – there was a big joint effort to share materials in 2012 so you don’t start from scratch.

May 18th will be the very Fascination of Plants Day and most events will be organised for this day. In addition, where this is not suitable, events will be organised throughout the week of 13–19 May 2013. Just contact your National Coordinator (www.plantday12.eu, click on "countries") or the EPSO Coordinator Trine Hvoslef-Eide to discuss and get access to the FoPD corporate design, downloaded for free at the “PR-toolbox” on this webpage to be used to prepare, hold and report on this day, see “Main Menu”.

To join the next FoPD to be held worldwide on 18 May 2013, if you are interested in organising an event, become a partner or sponsor, please

Contact Trine Hvoslef-Eide and Karin Metzlaff as soon as possible (and Jan Kellmann for more information on the FoPD in 2012).

Hope to see you all next year!