Join us for a month long series of talks in celebration of International Women’s Day 2021.
Science, Botany, Creativity and Suffragettes
Woman botanists and how the feminist message used plants and stitching to help their cause.
Wed 3 March, 7 – 8pm (Online talk via Zoom)
Focusing on a few female botanists, Zoë will be exploring through artistry and vision, the connecting plant power in protest through direct message and re-useable textile banners and stitch
Zoë teaches textiles and natural dyes at Morley College which has historical links to the SLBI and has a background in fashion. As a textile artist versed in natural dyes from plants, she has recently developed an inspired interest in how textiles were used by the suffragettes, and how together with fashion these helped to disseminate clear feminist messages.
Tickets: By donation. Book here.
Exploring the botanical wonders of the Overberg Renosterveld
A Critically Endangered vegetation type in South Africa and what conservation models are in place to protect them.
Mon 8 March, 7 – 8pm (Online talk via Zoom)
In the spring 2020 a unique opportunity arose to join the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT) to conduct botanical surveys across the region. Only 5% of this Critically Endangered vegetation type remains, mostly on the land of farmers in the region. A ground breaking conservation model sees the vegetation protected in perpetuity. The monitoring of red listed species by a network of citizen scientists across South Africa under the auspices of South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) programme will also be discussed.
Petra Broddle volunteered at the SLBI for many years in our herbarium and beyond whilst she worked at Kew BGG. She now lives back in South Africa but remains an enthusiastic supporter
Tickets: By donation. Book here.
Bees’ needs: is planting for pollinators enough?
Are we planting the right species for perfect pollination?
Thu 18 March, 7 – 8pm (Online talk via Zoom)
The UK has over 250 bee species, and insects from many other groups are also important pollinators, yet the discussions around their needs are often dominated by honeybees and bumblebees.
Bee-friendly schemes are seeing new meadows, road verges and other colourful flowering displays springing up – but do these provide plant species that really benefit bees, and do they target the species that need help the most?
This talk will look at bees’ interactions with plants and their environment and consider what changes are really needed to ensure pollination into the future.The photograph shows the often overlooked Hylaeus bees.
Dr Sarah E J Arnold FHEA, Senior Lecturer – Insect Behaviour and Ecology, Deputy Programme Leader, BSc Biology/MBiol/BSc Biology (Extended)Agriculture, Health and Environment Department, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich Tickets: By donation. Book here.
Women in Botany
The remarkable history behind women plant namers and how times are changing.
Wed 24 March, 7 – 8pm (Online talk via Zoom)
Heather Lindon worked on the International Plant Names Index at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for 8 years. During that time she and her colleagues realized they could use the extensive plant name author index to uncover often hidden stories of women botanists.
Through this work they were able to establish the earliest woman plant name author with her remarkable story of elopement, debt, love and botany. They uncovered other early women botanists and determined who were the most prolific namers of plants.
One of the surprising finds is that one women on the top ten list is still active in botany today. More recently they asked top publishing women in the world of plants and fungi to share their stories of their experiences working in science as a way of inspiring other young botanists. This talk will explore the stories of some of these early women botanists and those who have made a large contribution to the field of plant nomenclature.
Heather L Lindon, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Tickets: By donation. Book here.
