Analysis: The average person can't recognise common wildflowers, trees and non-flowering plants, making it harder to protecting our native biodiversity
By Natalie O'Neill, DCU, and Karen Kerr, Queens University Belfast
Plants are the most important, least understood, and most taken for granted of all living things. In Ireland, the botanical expertise that previous generations once held is disappearing at a time when it is needed most.
While the country is in the throes of a Biodiversity Crisis, the incidence of Plant Blindness - the inability of a person to perceive plants in their environment, acknowledge their importance in nature and the misguided view that animals are superior to plants - is growing among the general population.
This means that the average person cannot recognise the majority of common wildflowers, trees and non-flowering plants, which is a contributory factor to our difficulty in understanding what we need to do to protect our native biodiversity.
In December 2025 the Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity published the latest report on the welfare of our unique and protected habitats - The Status of EU Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland, 2025 - which found that 90% of Ireland's protected habitats are in an unfavourable condition.
This report identifies four types of protected woodland ecosystems which act as indicators of the overall health of our biodiversity, all of which are in 'bad’ health; Old Oak, Yew, Bog and Alluvial. Would you guess that one of the main threats to these ancient and culturally rich places is other plants? Namely, invasive plant species.
Cherry Laurel, Rhododendron and Sycamore (yes, it’s not native) choke our ancient Yew woodlands. Himalayan Balsam aggressively chokes out native plants and causes riverbank erosion in Alluvial forests where it is thriving. It is appearing in hedgerows across the country at an alarming rate, but how many of us know what it looks like? Or that removing it when it is in flower will actually spread its seeds further?
Our education system is a site of hope but also an area of concern when it comes to Plant Blindness. One UK study of A level biology students found that 86% could not identify more than three species of native plants and attributed this partly to the lack of botanical skills that their teachers held.
From RTÉ News, The wildflower meadow at Trinity College Dublin is an important talk point which highlights the biodiversity crisis
78% of pre-service biology teacher participants in an All-Island SCoTENS research project undertaken between DCU and Queens University said they had very little plant biology in their undergraduate degree. They also felt less prepared to teach plant biology and ecology compared to other areas of the curriculum such as human anatomy.
All universities in Ireland offer general science degrees that progress students towards specialising in one or two areas like botany, microbiology, or genetics. Only four primary universities have specialised disciplines or departments specifically focused on Botany - TCD, UCD, UG, UCC. There are other institutions that offer programmes that include plants, plant processes, and plant products (such as Agricultural Science or Horticulture) but the focus is on specific plants that are useful to humans rather than on broader plant biodiversity that is essential for all life on earth.
To put some context on this - in 2024, 35,345 people graduated with an undergraduate honours degree. While there is no exact figure on the number of botany graduates, the number is estimated to be between 60-100 students each year. 2011 was the last time a student enrolled in a solely Botany degree in the UK.
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From RTÉ One's Mooney Goes Wild, Éanna Ní Lamhna explains the huge risks of introducing a non-native plant to the ecosystem.
Forthcoming research by the authors reveals that inservice biology teachers reported plant biology as their least favourite part of the Leaving Certificate biology course to teach, with 100% of interviewees reporting a lack of confidence in their botanical and ecological knowledge regardless of their age or years of experience.
The learning outcomes approach to teaching school curricula in Ireland gives teachers choice and flexibility in the breadth and depth of the content that they choose to teach, but what if their lack of confidence and knowledge around biodiversity is actually limiting what our young people are learning about the natural world?
Given a choice, teachers reported that they will generally select a human example over a plant example to explain a biological concept because students cannot relate to plants, and find them ‘boring’. Who then will inspire the next generation to study botany?
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From RTÉ One's Mooney Goes Wild, The book Ireland's Generous Nature by Irish botanist and environmentalist Peter Wyse Jackson is the first ever comprehensive account of the historical and present-day uses of wild plant species in Ireland.
The way we teach (or don’t teach) about plants has consequences for wider society. With fewer students inspired to enter botanical undergraduate programmes comes a decline in skilled plant scientist graduates available to fill knowledge gaps left by experienced retirees, and to address new issues of global concern such as food security, restoration of damaged ecosystems and climate change caused by destruction of nature.
The general public is less likely to push back against local and national governmental and industrial decisions that will have an adverse impact on biodiversity. Also, decision makers in positions of authority have fewer experts to call upon who can speak for nature, all of which compounds the decline in our natural heritage.
Perhaps it is time to turn the conversation to the dominance of the capitalist culture in which we live. Our country’s success rests upon its economy. Our STEM policies are mainly concerned with forging links to industry and commercialisation so that we can maintain our position as an international competitor. This means using education to supply workers for economic growth. Botany is like a square peg in a round hole in this scenario.
From RTÉ Archives in 2008, Ecologists conduct research for Bord na Móna to inform how bogs might be returned to nature after being used for turf production.
Teaching young people to know, understand and value plants (and microbes, soil, insects, birds, fish) has no place in an economy that makes gains from converting nature into money. The gradual loss of botanical expertise is related to biodiversity loss and can be correlated to a rise in economic wealth. It serves a purpose to have a population who are plant blind because it makes it easier to exploit nature when there is no one to object.
As our soil degrades, our marine life suffocates, and our terrestrial habitats are destroyed, there is a real need for a space within second level education to address plant blindness in a time of what Donna Haraway calls ‘unprecedented looking away’ from nature.
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Dr Natalie O'Neill is an Assistant Professor in Science Education at the School of Policy and Practice in Dublin City University. Dr Karen Kerr is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work in Queens University Belfast
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
