16-06-2025
Botany on the Rock brings together plant focused people
The Canadian botanical associations annual meeting and conference was held in Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time in almost 50 years, from June 10 to 14.
The four and a half day conference is filled with activities such as public lectures, discussion, and even some field trips.
Meghan McCarthy hosted one of the field trips to MUN's Botanical Garden. She told CBC News how excited she is to show plant focused people the lesser seen side of the gardens.
"As much as we love the garden side, we do a lot of things," McCarthy said.
A group of almost thirty people showed up in a yellow school bus. They pulled into the parking lot where McCarthy greeted them and handed out maps to the garden.
However, instead of heading into the gardens, they went across the street to the greenhouses. They got to look at some rare plants there and some seedlings that had just started to grow.
Ben Falthan is a MUN student and was volunteering on this trip. He said it's been a very big deal to have this huge conference here in our little city.
"Newfoundland is such a nice place. It has such a great and unique biodiversity and plant ecosystems," Felthan said.
Felthan is a biology undergrad student. He was selected for the volunteer position by his professor. He said he loves plants and was happy to spend the day around them.
"There's a lot of very passionate people here about plants, " Felthan said. "It's great to bring everyone together."
In total around 100 people traveled to the island for this conference, McCarthy said. Professors, students, experts and amateurs have come together for the common interest of plants, conservation, and sustainability.
"Over half the conference is students, so it's a really great opportunity for students to share their research," said McCarthy.
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