Vegetal Future Week 2: Master in Plant Intelligence and Social Innovation
After the amazing presentations by professors Leonardo Chiesi and Stefano Mancuso last week, I was eager to get to class at Villa Bardini in Florence for week 2 of the masters program in Futuro Vegetale, AKA Vegetal Future.
Week 2, Day 1
Friday turned out to be a long day of tedious plant biology and bioutilization of plants to combat pollution and contamination. The subject matter was super interesting and really helpful to understand how and why plants act the way they do, but unfortunately it was presented by two of the most insecure and boring professors I have encountered in a long time.
The BioRemediation section was a little disconcerting, since most of the work with plants this particular professor has done in massive land contamination projects was about using them and then throwing them away/burning them, something I just can't fathom. And the worst part was that she didn't even flinch as she told us. I mean, we are in the middle in a masters program that is all about plant intelligence and social innovation, so you would think that she would want to open a discussion about the ethics around using plants in such a matter?! But alas... no. She just took it as a part of the process that the plants do what they do and then are destroyed. I only wish Mancuso would have been there during that lecture--I am curious as to what he would have said about her flippant behavior. Next week, I am definitely going to ask him. This is why I much prefer looking for Biomimicry solutions that mimic the processes of plants without hurting them in these types of cases. Right now I am working on a team that has a multi-year biomimicry/circular design project around water purification and treatment, so I have to believe that there are biomimicry solutions for land remediation, as well.
Lucky for us, when things gets to be a little too heavy in the classroom, we can walk out to a view like this:
On a clear day, you can see out beyond Florence and into the surrounding hills. It is truly breathtaking, and has a way of clearing your head of all the confusion and awakening happening around our relationship with the plant world and the effects of plant blindness.
Week 2, Day 2
Saturday was completely the opposite: **stimulating and inspiring**. The morning was spent talking about the re-learning of ancient techniques in architecture to create an oasis in the middle of the desert. The professor has more than 20 years of experience working with local, nomad people in northern Africa and the Middle East to bring back methods of water management that go back thousands of years, but have been lost due to groups that entice the locals with modern technology that promise big things, but deliver very little. He walked us through a number of projects he has worked on to create these vibrant water-filled areas in scorching desert conditions using proven methods in harmony with the natural landscape. He was so captivating, that we sat there fore four hours without even a break! I am looking forward to his next lecture on his work with UNESCO.
After some lunch, and a confusing and boring talk by an actor that tried to convince us that an ancient poem by Tasso had something to do with plant, the last professor arrived and we took a journey through the history of landscape architecture .
The last professor took us through the history of "landscape", a term that is much harder to define than you think. Go ahead, try it for yourself!
I loved her way of exploring space, plants, and objects in landscape architecture to construct places of communication and exchange, since this seems to be what our cities need most. There was such a vibrant debate going during her lecture, that she barely got through her slides. Thankfully, we get her for another three lectures, which should give us just enough time to dig a little deeper into this area.
Without a doubt, this week will be dedicated to reflection and assimilation of what we learned, plus lots of research to get deeper into the material. This is my favorite time, since redefining how we relate and work with plants is exactly what I am here to do. 2300 years ago, Aristotle told us that plants were just these unconscious "things" that run on automatic pilot, today we know that they have intelligence and logic, some would even dare say "consciousness". So how does this change the way we approach them? Or does it?
How would your everyday behavior change if you realized that the piece of salad on your plate is alive and aware that it is about to be eaten by you? Have a think on that, and let me know what you come up with.
Oh, and if there are any topics you want me to elaborate on, let me know. I tend to spend hours of my day thinking about these things and talking to the plants about it. Way more efficient than any therapist I have ever gone to, and cheaper too!