Blind to plants
I only recently came across this concept, which was brought to us by the botanist educators Wandersee and Schussler in their 1999 publication ‘Preventing Plant Blindness’.
Plant blindness is defined as “the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs.” Our interest in nature tends to focus more on animals than plants.
In the bush, mangrove or rainforest, I was a stranger to the plant kingdom.
I was once plant blind. I saw vegetation as a mass of green and brown – I didn’t know plant names or their story, with a few exceptions. I knew the “sensitive plant” as a young child and loved brushing my fingers over the delicate leaves to watch them close up tightly. The coconut palm, the mango, neem tree and frangipani were well known to me. However, in the bush, mangrove or rainforest, I was a stranger to the plant kingdom.
Seeing green
My landscape architecture training changed all that as I learnt to identify plant species and ecosystems. I grew much closer to the natural world by learning the names and characteristics of both native and exotic vegetation and watching them grow in my garden and elsewhere.
I know there is much to learn from our Indigenous culture, where plants are highly valued and play a role in mythology, religion and medicine. I’d like to see us draw on this knowledge and expose children to more creative activities involving plants (such as art and drama), to strengthen their relationships to them. In the meantime, let’s at least teach our young children the names of common plants around us.
Once, when my two year old grand-daughter was lagging behind while walking in the bush, I stopped to wait for her. I could see she was in her own world, looking around and pointing up, down and sideways. I caught the odd word from her constant babble, “gum-nuts”, “leafs”, “berries”. With an inner glow, I knew she was on her way to plant sightedness. I am teaching her well.
Where are you on the plant blindness/sightedness spectrum? Are there plants you can teach your child to recognise to improve their connectedness to the natural world?
