Plant Guardian Society

Inspiring Stewardship towards Plants through Social Marketing

The scenario:

While paused at a trail-head, students are listening to an instructor roll-out the next team activity and a student plucks a leaf off of a nearby plant, almost absentmindedly. As the instructor continues with the team instructions, that student briefly looks at the leaf in their hand and then tosses it aside. With now empty hands, they begin to reach towards another plant, hand outstretched towards a living yet vulnerable leaf.

Freeze!

This brief scenario is ripe with opportunity to explore the concept of stewardship in relation to flora and living organisms in general. The student who rips leaves from a plant may not have a clear concept of how this can create detrimental issues for the plant, how this action is essentially creating gaping wounds on a living organism which can make them vulnerable to infection or pests. Indeed, when I ask students about their actions, they seldom view their actions as negative, believing that there is no impact upon the plant at all. The motivation generally appears to stem merely from a need to have something in their hands rather than even a desire to see a leaf up close.

So how to inspire stewardship towards our plant neighbors and thereby reduce this careless abuse?

Oh the possibilities! I would first begin with an intentional and intensive observation session of nearby plants. Fully engage their four senses (as most likely the plant will not be edible) and encourage students to become an expert on their plant; making the plant more real, make it come alive! Providing time, gentle encouragement plus enthusiasm, many students respond positively towards a plant they’ve spent time observing. Allow time and space for students to share with each other what they have discovered about their plant. This opportunity for cross-pollination can cause ripple effects amongst the students, causing inspiration to radiate from their peers rather than from the instructor.

The incentive:

To take this scenario a step further, the instructor could prompt students to embody stewardship towards all plants by earning a lifetime membership into the Plant Guardian Society. This prestigious Society requires seasonal dues by members engaging in behaviors to protect and aid the health of plants. These dues may be paid in a variety of forms; such as watering plants in a garden, adding compost to beds, being a vocal advocate for respecting plants, and developing identification and cultural knowledge of local plant species.

Membership to this distinguished Society carries public recognition. Members get to craft their own badge, this allows students to tally their contributions. The more frequent the advocacy and stewardship, the more impressive the badge becomes as it accumulates more clout. The badge could take a variety of forms, such as a safety pin with beads or a rectangle of fabric with felt cutouts to glue on.

Why should students care about a badge or this Society? With proper marketing, buy-in from fellow instructors and enthusiasm, all the students could see this as the cool thing to do! Who doesn’t want to rock a badge full of flare?

Prototypes are in development, stay tuned! In the meantime, remember to be kind to our plant neighbors!

Why this Society?

The idea for this social marketing plan came about after witnessing students carelessly rip leaves off plants. As an experiential educator, I seek to facilitate positive experiences for students to support their growth towards stewardship of the environment and their communities. Every student is different thus a student-centered technique like this Society seems appropriate. This enables an instructor to tailor the achievements and progress for the individual student while still supporting overall stewardship progress for the entire group. By appropriately scaling achievements, students will remain engaged and motivated, and ideally begin to self-regulate their behavior while also encouraging the same from their peers as they see the value behind stewardship in action.