Research

The Ant, the Plant, and the Caterpillar book contributes to Karen’s PhD research into the use of botanical art in the communication of plant conservation. Plants are seemingly invisible in the environmental communication mix. 

The research evaluates the status of contemporary botanical art in the context of Environmental Communication. It assesses the efficacy and relevance of this current visual discourse associated with the significant environmental issues of contemporary botany. It is the aim of this research to make plants more visible in communications. 

It responds to the erosion of botanical diversity, which has become a severe problem globally and in Australian urban culture. Human-induced environmental change presents an unprecedented challenge to the conservation of biodiversity in Australia (Mackey et al., 2008) and abroad. Despite some of the massive efforts made globally to conserve plant diversity over the past few decades, it is becoming increasingly evident that our current strategies are insufficient to prevent the continuing decline in biodiversity (Heywood, 2017). 

For more on Karen’s research, go to the EfflorescenceProject.com