The Plant Conservation Alliance and the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany welcomed Chris Martine, David Burpee Professor of Plants Genetics & Research and Director of the Manning Herbarium at Bucknell University, to present “Plants are Cool, Too: #SciComm, media relations, and a botanist on Mars”.

Using case studies based on recent attempts to promote new scientific findings through multiple types/tiers of media, this talk will present strategies that any biodiversity professional might employ when hoping to spread the word about (and engage the public in) their research outcomes. While taking on the job of promoting your own work might seem like a daunting (or even painful) task, the payoffs ideally include: a) Increased reads and/or citations; b) Expanding the reach and impact of your work; and d) Building public enthusiasm for biodiversity science/protection/conservation.

Chris Martine spent his childhood tromping through the woodlots and culverted streams of suburban New Jersey. Chris actively engages non-science audiences across multiple outlets, including as host/producer of the YouTube series “Plants are Cool, Too!” He has published on the systematics, ecology, and taxonomy of a number of plant groups, with much of his last 15 years focused on Australian "bush tomatoes" in the genus Solanum as well as the flora of the Northeast.