… to study plants in 2007, the colour green (my favourite) was not a key factor. That I would come crashing out of the forest all dishevelled, muddy and unglam, and not walk out of the waves dripping seawater from my body oh-so-sexy like a marine biologist, were. The further disruptions to my sense of self-esteem when I imagine the sneers and derision of zoologists at my study subjects were also important considerations. I had some ground to believe that plants form the physical structure of habitats and make 99% of the food for 99% of ecosystems, without which all those cuddly bambis, that people with very superficial understanding of biodiversity think all the world of, would have no homes to hide in and will die of hunger. So it is with trying to get more undergraduate minions into our plant lab. If the balance is tilted in the future, it would make it harder for anyone considering a career in botany.
Sorry, couldn’t stop making another.
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