Despite the importance to the planet's ecosystem and the immense variety of species, plants are only "a green background" for humans, and natural science education suffers from zoo-centrism, says the book Beyond Plant Blindness (The Greenbox, 2020). One explanation is that, from Aristotle to the present day, Western thought places plants on a lower scale of life. In a classification of the natural world, plants are silenced and their existence is described only in terms of reproduction and photosynthesis. However, plants = life.

The Little Poetic Planting Workshop tries to overcome this biological blockage and create an intimate relationship between children and plants through gardening and drawing activities. As Francis Halle also says in Atlas of Poetic Botany (The MIT Press, 2018), plants are not as well known as animals, and through drawing we can spend much more time with some surprising, enigmatic and even funny beings.

“It's like visiting a distant planet and encountering an alien life form with which we share no language—a life form based on principles that are not our own. If we want to understand this creature, it is best to take our time. (...) The extended time required for drawing is equivalent to a dialogue with the plant: it opens up space for reflection, which is absolutely necessary when you are face to face with an alien."

The workshop is carried out by Alexandru Ciobotă, together with the children from the upper class of the Kindergarden with Extended Program no. 23, coordinated by the teacher Cristina Genoveva Ionel.

Thanks to GreenFeel for hosting.