Talking to the Triffids: Decolonizing how we teach about plants (and why it matters)

In this paper I argue that the ways that we teach about plants are limited by long standing conceptions of them as insensitive and noncommunicative. Science can provide insights from research into plants, however, the extent of the change to our thinking that would be needed to address this limitation can best be brough about through more creative means. I suggest that the deep-seated and long-established misconceptions of plants can be effectively addressed through Storytelling. I explore the idea that humans’ relationship with plants can be understood as colonization, and look to Science Fiction, finding an example of this in The Day of the Triffids (1951) by John Wyndham. Storytelling and specifically the speculative narratives of Science Fiction are argued to offer us a means of changing our minds about plants, whilst also offering approaches to how to teach and learn about them differently. Stories are proposed as a tool for reconsidering entrenched values and beliefs, offering a means of challenging established ways of thinking about plants, and releasing us to consider why how we teach about plants matters – not just for education, but for our future.