Big Ideas
Welcome to the Big Ideas stage. Tune in to these talks for thought-provoking discussions with leaders in their fields - including an environmentalist, plant physiologist and neurobiologist, herbalist and even a philosopher - about topics with far-reaching implications. For example, do we really understand the full scale of what nature
What has Nature ever done for us?
with Tony Juniper CBE Environmentalist, Author & Chair of Natural England Description For too long many have regarded a healthy environment as a nice to have, with the loss of wildlife, damage to ecosystems and pollution of air and water as regrettable, but nonetheless inevitable, and the price we must
How Plants Grow and Move – Is this Behavior?
with Professor Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh Professor of Biology, University of Washington & President of the Society for Plant Neurobiology/Plant Signaling and Behavior Professor Dr. Paco Calvo Professor of Philosophy of Science, and Principal Investigator of Minimal Intelligence Lab, University of Murcia (Spain) Description The question of whether plants are
Planta Sapiens (or why good wine needs no bush)
with Professor Dr. Paco Calvo Professor of Philosophy of Science, and Principal Investigator of Minimal Intelligence Lab, University of Murcia (Spain) Description Grapevines take action autonomously according to their own needs. Their behavior is truly flexible and anticipatory. Vines can navigate their surroundings courtesy of their sensory apparatus, and are
Flower Power - Why plants deserve rights too
with Dr Alessandra Viola Science journalist & author Description Why do we name our pets and talk to them but we do not do the same with plants? This happens because we all share the same 'dysfunction': plant blindness. Most of us are deeply convinced that plants are
Growing a Revolution to Reverse the Erosion of Civilizations
with Professor David R. Montgomery Director of The Geomorphology Research Group at the Quaternary Research Center & Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington Description Soil may be the least sexy resource upon which civilization depends yet soil erosion and degradation have plagued societies throughout history. From Classical
The Hidden Half of Nature, Inside and Out
with Anne Biklé Biologist, Avid Gardener & Author Description Over the course of some 400 million years, one of the grandest partnerships in the history of life developed between the green-bodied botanical world and vast communities of soil-dwelling fungi and bacteria. It was a spectacular success. Plants now grace the
Entangled Life
with Merlin Sheldrake Tropical Ecologist, Mycologist & Author Howie Kahn Journalist & Author Description Thinking about fungi makes the world look different. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that support and sustain nearly all living systems. Fungi throw our concepts of
