A large group of secondary school students and their biology teachers were introduced to the fascinating world of plant research in Wageningen on Thursday 23 May. The tour and workshops by NPEC and the Jan IngenHousz Institute (JII) were organized as part of Fascination of Plants Day 2024.
The seventh edition of Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) kicked off on 18 May this year. With more than 500 events in 64 countries, the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) is drawing attention to the importance of plant science in the coming months. Within WUR (which is also a member of EPSO) the initiative was taken to organize a tour and workshops at the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC) in cooperation with the Jan IngenHousz Institute for Photosynthesis.
Tour, practicum and contest
Biology teachers were approached by Wageningen Pre-University asking if they were interested in attending, and they were! Some 70 students and biology teachers were given guided tours of NPEC's greenhouse and climate cells on Thursday 23 May, spread over the morning and afternoon, and a mini-lecture and practical on phenotyping and photosynthesis. There were also demonstrations of drones and NPEC's TraitSeeker in the fields behind Unifarm, and the students and teachers went into the field under supervision to inspect plants themselves.
Source: wur.nl