In 2012, the involvement of the Portuguese community with the 'Fascination of Plants Day' was incredible but it got even bigger in 2013: 65 national institutions involved, making us the 1st worldwide, organizing 99 events around May 18th.

1. Fascinated in Portugal –institutions, scientists and
the public celebrate plant research
In 2012, the involvement of the Portuguese community with the
'Fascination of Plants Day' was incredible but it got even bigger in
2013: 65 national institutions involved, making us the 1st worldwide,
organizing 99 events around May 18th.
As organizers we are grateful for all the people that got interested,
but also wondered how this was possible. We believe it has a lot to do
with the involvement of many different partners that could equally
reach many different publics, mainly by acting locally. Universities,
research institutions, botanic gardens, museums, schools, science
centres, city halls, biotech companies, several societies and non profit
associations - all over the continent and islands, organizing events of
different types: seminars, workshops, field trips or promoting lab
experiments. Some proposals were very “out of the box”, crossing
science and arts, music, drawing, writing and also crossing territories
poorly explored in science communication in Portugal, such as
shopping centres and street markets.
We invested in online presence, through the official website but
mainly through a dedicated facebook page; this proved to be an
excellent communication tool. Still, we believe that acting through
proximity is the key to success. The commitment of Plant Scientists in
actions with and for the community was an essential part of the
project. This is not always easy, as scientists seem distant from
society, starting from the lexicon they use, but when the barrier is
broken, people usually feel comfortable upon the realization that a
scientist is in fact “one of us”. At the same time, the scientific
community earns public recognition for their work and scientists gain
a more global vision of the importance of their research in the society
they live in.
We believe that one can only be contaminated by science through
example, and it was greatly due to the commitment and passion for
Plant Sciences from researchers, teachers, communicators, farmers,
ecologists, botanists, both amateur and professionals, that the
hundreds of people that have celebrated May 18th in Portugal got to
be themselves fascinated by plants.
Nelson Saibo, Ana Sanchez, Joana Lobo Antunes
Portugal Coordinators Fascination of Plants Day