Beyond plant blindness: seeing the importance of plants for a sustainable world

In recent years an interdisciplinary nexus has been generated around what it means to experience life as a plant. From the science of plant behaviours, plant language and meaning-making to plant-based philosophy, plant enquiries are crossing disciplinary and conceptual boundaries. The everyday life of a plant can appear to be static and silent to human perception. And yet, as modern science narratives tell their stories, we are realising that plants live in complex, and often social worlds. Removing plants from the human view makes it easier for us to exploit them and appears accordingly to reduce our ability to see into their worlds. In this research study we ask how, by taking a different view through an interdisciplinary lens, might we improve our understanding and sensitivity to the lives of plants? Thus, our research contributes to policy contexts in which society cannot afford its citizens to be plant blind to contemporary conservation issues