Breaking the Cycle of Lack of Plant Awareness

Urban Farm DB summary

This intervention, piloted with a group of biology teachers from Gauteng Province, South Africa, used the mobile plant-identification app Pl@ntNet to address the widely documented problem of low plant awareness among teachers and, by extension, students. It began with a workshop on why lack of plant awareness matters, then introduced teachers to Pl@ntNet — which identifies plants in three simple steps — through a plant hunt in the school garden to reinforce learning. Teachers reported more positive perceptions of teaching plant-related topics after the intervention. Challenges identified included the availability of internet data, limited biodiversity in school gardens, time constraints, and discipline issues with learners.