What can we do? Key organisations such as the RHS https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/plant-health-in-gardens and the HTA (Horticultural Trade Association) are working hard to promote plant health and biosecurity to ensure that all plants sold adhere to regulations. There have been recent changes worth noting. Since December 14th 2019, all plants sold to other professionals must carry a plant passport. In many cases …
International Year of Plant Health – March 2020
No prizes for guessing the topic for this month’s blog – viruses. As we are all adjusting to unprecedented life changes caused by the Coronavirus (also called Covid-19) pandemic, it seemed appropriate to share some words and links about plant viruses and their impact on plant health. This won’t all be a doom and gloom blog though, the devastation that …
Out of Sight
A poem prompted by seeing a fallen tree on a solo walk A tree fallen over its roots, clear to see no longer able to hold up the above ground beautiful tree. The sea, crystal clear no longer able to support a busy metropolis beneath the waves. How did this happen to the soil and the ocean? Did we not …
International Year of Plant Health – February 2020
This month’s topic came to mind easily – Resilience. With Australian fires and UK floods in the news, it’s easy to see that plants can be destroyed in the extreme weather that comes with climate change. How does this relate to plant health? Just as humans are vulnerable to infections when stressed, plants subjected to extremes of e.g. heat, cold, …
International Year of Plant Health – January 2020
What a good start it’s been. Twitter is already active with some great links on plant health including:- The beautiful 1 minute International Plant Protection Convention video “I am Plants – I am life”. https://youtu.be/cmPAwiIK2BU Xylella – a 4 minute video narrated by Dame Helen Mirren on what we should all know about the threat Xylella poses to 100s of our …
International year of plant health – what does that mean for me?
The designation of an international year means that the United Nations member states have agreed the issue is important to the world. https://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-years/index.html What does that mean for me? Over the course of 2020, I will be writing a series of blogs that touch on the international guidance, regulations and ongoing research in plant health, but from angles that are relevant …
Season’s greetings and sustainability thoughts
It’s not always easy to feel good about ourselves, especially if the big sustainability challenges seem overwhelming at times. For me, it helps to feel positive about the things I can do and to try to keep making changes to daily life to use resources sustainably. If sharing these thoughts encourages others to do some of the same, and importantly …
Getting ready for IYPH2020 – A New Year Takes Root
Read my article with Defra’s chief plant health officer Professor Nicola Spence in the Royal Society of Biology’s December issue of The Biologist https://thebiologist.rsb.org.uk/biologist-opinion/159-biologist/opinion/2251-a-new-year-takes-root
Grow Your Own Chips competition
One of my projects this year has been a “Grow your own chips” event for my family. I hope to convey the fun we had in this blog, as well as the why, how and possible impact. If it inspires anyone else to do something similar – all the better. For many years we have taken part in a potato …