- DURATION 4 x 60 mins
Event Description
These illustrated talks will bring to life some of the many stories of some of our best-loved fruits - including aspects of their historical and geographical roots, folklore, symbolism, botany, nutrition, chemistry and more. Each of the four talks will zoom into a different plant family and highlight some of its most notable members, siblings and cousins.
Friday 1st March: Zest and the rest: Oranges, Lemons and the citrus family
Members of this fruity family have worldwide appeal. The segments of this illustrated talk will touch upon world-changing medicinal and technological breakthroughs, tangy tastes, perfumery, electricity, etymology, religious symbolism and much more. What exactly is a tangelo? How ugly is the Ugli fruit? And when is grapefruit bad for you?
Friday 8th March: Gourd Almighty! - Cucumber cousins
This is a truly versatile plant family. Its members are exfoliating, water-carrying, sound-enhancing, worm-expelling, breath-freshening, ink-erasing, soothing, cooling and nourishing. This illustrated talk will explore aspects of botany, geography, ethnobotany, innovative horticulture and more. What is it with cats and cucumbers?
Friday 15th March: Core! & more: Apples, Pears and the Rose Family
After defining what a fruit actually is, this illustrated talk will delve into a variety of subjects from forbidden fruits and corporate logos to divination and natural medicine. The evolutionary, ecological and environmental implications of industrial orchards will be featured and you might even find out where baby apes sleep.
Thursday 21st March: Saucy and spicy: chillies, tomatoes and the fruits of the nightshade family.
This illustrated talk will cover Scoville Units, goji berries, witches on broomsticks, pharmaceutical breakthroughs and 'Wolf Peaches' slithering at 0.028 mph! We'll get under the skin of seed dispersal, visit the sewage plants and hopefully gain some Heinzsight.
- Duration: 4 x 60 mins
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Meet the Host, Michael Holland, FLS biog.
Michael studied Ecology at Lancaster and Oregon State Universities and is a keen photographer, wildlife gardener and all-round composting nerd! Michael had a 25-year career at the eminent Chelsea Physic Garden in London, latterly as Head of Education for over 17 years. He has taught tens of thousands of people, aged 2 to 92, about the natural world. He is both a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the London Environmental Educators’ Forum (LEEF) and is on the Education Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. He has spoken at a number of global conferences; a highlight being invited to lecture at a botanical garden in Japan.
He has appeared on a number of television and radio shows and podcasts about plants and history (including Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, Channel 5’s ‘The Thames: Britain’s Great River’ series with Tony Robinson and Mr Plant Geek’s Plant-Based Podcast to name a few).
He's written three books:'I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast' (a colourful compendium of plants and ethnobotany), 'Smart Animals' (about intelligence in the animal kingdom) and 'A Jungle In Your Living Room - a guide to creating your own houseplant collection'; and has written numerous articles for BBC Gardeners' World online.
www.growingunderstandings.co.uk @pond_dipper
More Information
What if I can’t make the event?
If a recording’s available for the event, you can still register for it and we will send you an email with a link to a recording shortly after it ends.
Will my camera be on and will I be visible to the other people?
Your camera and microphone does not need to be on for you to enjoy the event. The choice about whether to do this is completely yours.
How do I watch the live event?
Rest Less events are hosted on Zoom, a computer application that allows you to attend online events just by clicking a link. For detailed instructions, please go to our "FAQ" page, which you can find a link to in the nav bar at the top of the page.
How do I sign-up for and access the recording? (Recorded events only)
Book the event as normal (as if you are attending live). After the event ends you will automatically receive a post-event email with a link to the recording, as long as the event was recorded. You do not need to do anything else and there is no separate booking process for recordings only. Please note it can take up to 24 hours for Zoom to process recordings.