Writing plants out of secondary biology education in a time of ecological crisis – staying with or avoiding the trouble?

Research conducted across the UK links the fall in botanical expertise, with a decline in third-level botanical programmes of study, and a rise in ‘plant blindness’ (Stroud et al. 2022). Erosion of botanical education occurs at a time when national STEM policies are preoccupied with forging links to industry and commercialisation. These economic policies have failed to deliver on the intentions therein (Lynch 2022) and have resulted in us living on a damaged planet (Tsing et al. 2017) This study adopts Haraway’s theoretical framework (2016) to reimagine how we learn about the earth by forging new patterns of thought that deliberately entangle our lives with those of all species who bear the consequences of human actions. We critique the neoliberal constructivist discourse that promotes knowledge driven by economic demands (Carter 2005). Using the methodological approach of Bartlett and Vavrus (2017), we undertake a comparative case study, to map the erosion of botanical education from the biology curriculum in two countries–Ireland and Northern Ireland. This paper argues for biology education that will enable us to learn to live with other species on our damaged planet by shifting the focus of biology education to an eco-centered approach (Braidotti 2021).