When you walk through a park or your local neighbourhood, what do you notice first? Birds, insects, perhaps a colourful flower? Despite making up the foundation of nearly every terrestrial ecosystem, plants often go unnoticed. This phenomenon is known as “Plant Awareness Disparity”, the tendency for people to overlook plants and underestimate their importance in the natural world.
On the 20th of August, join ACSA_NSW Chapter for an engaging webinar exploring this fascinating topic and what it means for biodiversity conservation, environmental education, and citizen science.
The webinar will feature Dr Thomas Mesaglio (University of New South Wales, ACSA NSW) and Dr Matthew Pye (University of Sydney), who will share insights into why plants are often underappreciated, how this affects our relationship with nature, and what we can do to foster greater plant awareness.
All plant-curious people are welcome in the audience. Whether you’re a teacher, student, researcher, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about the world around you, this webinar offers an opportunity to learn from experts and discover new ways of engaging with biodiversity.
The event is also a chance to connect with the NSW Chapter of the Australian Citizen Science Association (ACSA NSW). If you’ve ever wanted to get involved in citizen science, find projects to participate in, or explore how citizen science could support your school, organisation, or community group, we’d love to meet you. ACSA NSW brings together people who are passionate about public participation in research and creating meaningful connections between science and society.
Join us for an inspiring conversation about the plants that sustain our ecosystems, and how citizen science can help us see them in a new light.
Learn more about our speakers:
Dr Thomas Mesaglio is a botanist and naturalist at the University of New South Wales. Much of his current research and work focuses on biodiversity informatics and the Australian flora, but he has also published on bushfire recovery, marine forensics, and invertebrate taxonomy and natural history. He is an iNaturalist curator and a site administrator for iNaturalist Australia, and regularly organises and leads BioBlitzes around Australia. Thomas has published four scientific books, and received the 2022 Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
Dr Matthew Pye is a Senior Lecturer at University of Sydney.
He invites large, diverse cohorts of first-year students to increase their botanical awareness and transform the way they see the world around them. Showcasing Indigenous knowledges and perspectives, he teaches botany through a lens of social justice – the human dimensions of conservation. His botanical practice has included art (B.A. Vis. Arts), taxonomy and systematics (Callitris) B.Sc. Hons, and conservation genetics (Bunya and Hoop Pines) Ph.D. Botany, as well as the impacts of cultural competence immersions in higher education.