7th International Fascination of Plants Day
May 18, 2024, the 7th International Fascination of Plants Day
This year's Fascination of Plants Day, a plant scientists' initiative, has already been adopted by 64 countries worldwide.
All information about this initiative can be accessed via www.plantday18may.org and is supported globally by a network of National Coordinators who voluntarily promote and disseminate the activity within their countries. A variety of over 500 plant-based outreach activities for all interested people from toddlers to grandparents have already been uploaded online by scientific institutions, universities, botanical gardens, and museums, together with farmers and companies, who will open their doors for you to enjoy the interactive events.
This special day will put the fascinating world of plants itself in the spotlight: numerous activities on and around the Fascination of Plants Day, coordinated by the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO — www.epsoweb.org) and the Global Plant Council, will plant virtual and constantly germinating seeds in the collective minds of the World Public recalling that plant science is of critical significance to the social, environmental and economic landscape now and in future.
Plants are unique organisms. They can produce sugars just from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. This ability to directly synthesize their own food has enabled plants to successfully colonize, adapt to, and diversify within almost every niche on the planet and biologists estimate the total number of plant species to be about 250,000. These abilities make plants the primary producers of biomass providing animals and humankind with food, feed, paper, medicine, chemicals, energy, and an enjoyable landscape. Anyone who would like to contribute to the Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) is welcome to join in. Just contact your National Coordinator (click on "countries" at www.plantday18may.org) to discuss and get access to all the supporting materials. The media are also kindly invited to get involved, and scientists, farmers, politicians and industrialists will discuss with them and present the latest state-of-the-art breakthroughs in the plant science world and explore all of the new potential applications plant sciences can offer. The Fascination of Plants Day covers all plant related topics including basic plant science, agriculture, horticulture & gardening, forestry, plant breeding, plant protection, food & nutrition, environmental conservation, climate change mitigation, smart bioproducts, biodiversity, sustainability, renewable resources, plant science education & art.
The previous editions of International Fascination of Plants Days were an incredible start to the initiative – over 810 events were organized in over 54 countries worldwide in 2022, attracting many thousands of people – see for yourself the success stories at
https://plantday18may.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FoPDSuccessStories2022FINAL.pdf
Events and facts at https://plantday18may.org/countries/ https://plantday18may.org/statistics/
Images at https://plantday18may.org/pr-toolbox/
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Contact Global Coordinators Trine Hvoslef-Eide, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway; T: +47 934 33 775; Przemysław Wojtaszek, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; T: +48 61 8295972 (5968); John Fitzgibbon, EPSO, BE; Publications Officer; T: +32-2-2136260; Karin Metzlaff, EPSO, BE; Executive Director; T: +32-2-2136260