Leeds’ Numiko is behind an interactive website for the science division of Kew Gardens.
It won a competitive pitch for the project, which is the first ever report into the state of the world’s plants.
Kew Science at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is tasked with recording and monitoring vascular plants & fungi around the globe.
Numiko’s role was to encourage people to engage with the site and understand what the data means to them. Each of the report’s 13 themes is represented through maps and visualisations.
“This is the first ever global assessment on the state of the world’s plants. We already have a ‘State of the World’s …birds, sea-turtles, forests, cities, mothers, fathers, children even antibiotics’ but not plants. I find this remarkable given the importance of plants to all of our lives– from food, medicines, clothing, building materials and biofuels, to climate regulation. This report therefore provides the first step in filling this critical knowledge gap,” explained Professor Kathy Willis, director of science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
“But to have effect, the findings must serve to galvanise the international scientific, conservation, business and governmental communities to work together to fill the knowledge gaps we’ve highlighted and expand international collaboration, partnerships and frameworks for plant conservation and use.”
The report not only shows the rate at which plants are becoming extinct, but also whether their status remains the same, or if they begin to repopulate.
Numiko will continue to work with Kew on its science strategy. Their next collaboration will be a Plants of the World Online Portal, a catalogue of the planet’s plant species.
