{"id":1476,"date":"2020-04-24T20:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-25T00:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/undergraduate-research-forum\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2020-05-01T09:57:02","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:57:02","slug":"b48-seeing-our-invisible-neighbors-overcoming-plant-blindness-at-miami-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/undergraduate-research-forum\/b48-seeing-our-invisible-neighbors-overcoming-plant-blindness-at-miami-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"B48: Seeing Our Invisible Neighbors: Overcoming Plant Blindness at Miami and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plant blindness may not seem like a huge problem, but a closer look at the issue reveals that it affects virtually everyone in a community. Our research addresses the question of what is plant blindness, and how can people at Miami and beyond overcome it? Never in our lifetime has the issue of plant blindness been so pertinent, with the onset of climate change and a rapid decrease in species diversity around the world. Our team researched various aspects of trees on campus, for example, their economic value or their linguistic history. After collecting and synthesizing this information, we then brainstormed engaging illustrations to complement our research. Our final product is a new and improved Tree Walk: we are replacing the old plastic labels with new steel ones. Engraved on these panels is a brief, well-researched paragraph, along with a relevant illustration and the species\u2019 name in English, Latin, and its indigenous language. Updating the Tree Walk will draw more people in to Miami\u2019s trees, making them think more about the relationships the trees in their communities have to each other and to the people around them. The results of our cross-disciplinary research will pull in students from all majors and communicate the message that plant blindness can\u2019t be fought by only botanists or biologists; it takes everyone. As journalism and zoology majors, we have learned valuable skills in label writing, scientific research, graphic design, information editing, and more. Our work has allowed us to strengthen and refine these skills while learning more about a subject we want everyone to care about as deeply about as we do now: trees, nature\u2019s breathtaking giants.<\/p>\n

Authors:<\/strong> Castor LaPack and Morgan Schneider<\/p>\n

Faculty Advisors:<\/strong> Steven Sullivan, Department of Biology, and Ginny Boehme, Librarian<\/p>\n\n\n