Thanks to Society of Biology Regional Coordinator David Urry for wielding the Society camera throughout the launch of the UKPSF report ‘UK Plant Science: Current Status and Future Challenges’, and letting me use some photos!
The GARNet website has a news piece on the launch, and tweets about the report are collected here.
Not put off by the long, damp queue for the Faraday Lecture, the plant sciences community gathered in the Marble Hall at the Royal Society.
In his speech, Society of Biology Chief Executive Mark Downs thanked the Society for Experimental Biology and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation for their support of the UKPSF.
Mimi Tanimoto commended the community spirit among plant scientists and the education, public engagement, industry and policy professionals that work with them. The report was based on the findings of an extensive survey of the community.
Jim Beynon highlighted the excellent quality of UK plant science, but warned that unless the community is supported by stable, sustained investment, there will be critical shortages in the skills and knowledge necessary to take on global and national challenges including food security, sustainable resource-use and climate change.
Ian Crute emphasised the importance of plant science on major global societal challenges, and praised the report for bringing this across.
And of course, Lisa and I were there too!
