Biodiversity in and across food and agriculture systems provides tremendous value to present and future generations. However, across the world we are losing genes, species, and ecosystems faster than we can account for them.

Across the United States, a growing number of schools and educational programs are planting gardens, engaging in Farm to School activities, and integrating plant science into the curriculum.

Urbanization, lack of contact with the natural world, and growing up removed from agriculture has contributed to a void of knowledge relating to food and food production, along with a phenomenon known as plant blindness.

Crop wild relatives—the plant species closely related to agricultural crops—are valuable
genetic resources used by plant breeders to increase pest and disease resistance, stress

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society created a vegetable farm in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. Visitors engaged with local experts in an exchange of knowledge about growing food and the impacts of community gardens.

Of the myriad gifts plants provide to humanity, food is among the most visible, as everyone needs to eat, every single day.

Care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices to provide health, social
or educational care services for a range of groups of vulnerable people. This includes

China is home to an astounding number of species, 31,500, and 12 percent of these species
can be found only in China. The Missouri Botanical Garden, working with an international

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology.

How can we captivate audiences through the bounty of our gardens? Food crops are one of the most approachable plant-related topics and can be a gateway to broader plant conservation discussions.