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Dr M’s Ten Plants project to inspire young botanists!

The CBBC classical music initiative Ten Pieces started in the autumn term of 2014 and aims to inspire a generation of primary children to get creative with classical music.

With a week of free cinema screenings for primary schools across the country, the project culminates in two Ten Pieces Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2015.

So successful has “Ten Pieces” been in the primary schools that a new project, Ten Pieces Secondary, begins in October 2015 aimed at secondary schools.

Dr M’s “Ten Plants” Project

Dr M’s recent experience of Fascination of Plants Day at University of Reading set him thinking: surely it is high time for a “Ten Plants” project?

Fascination of Plants day found dozens of local school children visiting the University of Reading campus and, under the supervision of  Dr M, Professor Tomato and Dr Macarena, they were fascinated by plant fossils, Conifer trees, Monkey Puzzles and other awesome, epic and legend plants (to use the their words!).

So, let’s launch a “Ten Plants” project!  Ten plants chosen for their innate fascination and charisma to enthuse a young generation of botanists!

Now there’s an eXtreme botanical plan!

touchy feely female cone

The Monkey Puzzle tree proved an inspired choice for Fascination of Plants Day at Reading, a strikingly fascinating plant and its story was more than up to the task of fascinating the young children who attended the event.

So the Monkey Puzzle is a definate #1 in Dr M’s “Ten Plants” project, but what about the remaining nine?

Dr M says: Over to you! Get in touch with your choice of plants to fascinate and inspire a younger generation of botanists! Send in your ideas together with some thoughts on how your chosen plant(s) might be fit for this task.

Dr M’s Twitter challenge: Get the word out, tell your friends, get on social media, use the hashtag #tenplants and let’s create our own eXtreme botanical Twitterstorm!

Later in the summer Dr M: Will select ten plants from all the suggestions and hand craft a YouTube video to launch this botanical venture for the love, joy and fascination of plants!

And what about Ten Plants Secondary? Urgently needed for sure, despite valiant efforts from initiatives like Science and Plants for Schools there is never enough botany and never enough plants in the secondary curriculum and Dr M says “Ten Plants Secondary” must happen, but first things first!

Photocredits: University of Reading Photography.

 

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