S173 Plants and people

After much deliberation I have decided to give the Open University module, Plants and people, a go. It's a rather exciting-sounding module that explains the reliance of people on plants - a topic I really want to learn more about.

There's a book written for the module called Why People Need Plants, which along with being written by the people at the Open University, is also written by the experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. This is used in conjuction with the study book that comes with the module, along with video and audio clips, which I guess are to really drive home difficult concepts.

The topics covered include how plants provide:

• staple foods (GM and non-GM)
• biofuels
• medicines
• catching criminals
• combating climate 
• potential health-related benefits of plants and their products, including tea, coffee and alcohol

The module will also look at:

• the botanical aspects marijuana. 
• the importance of conserving the diversity of our natural heritage – UK and globally.

For more information on the module, click here.

I have really high hopes for this module as it's for the same qualification as the S175 The Frozen Planet module that I studied a few months ago.

I've also created a group for this on Facebook. If you're interested in finding out more about this module or just want to have a nose around that the things we talk about and share in the group, please join us - I'm happy to accept non-studiers! Click here to see the group page.

I'm aiming to post a few updates on the things I'll be learning on this module throughout the coming months.

Wish me luck :)