Luca Steel, a BSPP member and Nottingham University PhD student at Rothamsted Research, has created a ‘Plant Defenders’ badge for the Girlguiding movement. Within 20 minutes of making the badges available, all 1,000 were sold-out. The BSPP have agreed to fund a further 2,000 badges which will soon be made available.
‘Plant Defenders’ is a challenge badge for Brownies and Guides (7-14 year old girls). The badge focuses on plant health and includes activities, games and songs about why plants are important, what makes them unhealthy, and what we can do to help. My favourite part is ‘real life plant defenders’ – girls can read about women working in plant health and get in touch with their questions! To earn the badge, Brownies/Guides must complete activities from each section and make their own ‘Plant Defender Pledge’- something they will do to help protect plants. This badge celebrates the International Year of Plant Health and, thanks to BSPP funding, will introduce plant pathology to 3,000 girls across the U.K.’
