The Connection Points project is a walkable route opening in the next couple of weeks connecting 15 mental health locations with native plant life spread across campus. Each stop includes photos from each season, a description of the plant life, their Indigenous names, a meditation exercise, and a podcast episode expanding on the stories of the plants and WashU’s relationship to indigeneity.
To those of you who share our car-less woes and miss the untouched paradise of your favorite hiking trail, let us share with you some nearby locations to quench your thirst for the outdoors. And to those who have a car but aren’t aware of adventure spots in St. Louis, allow us to introduce to you the great Missouri outdoors.
Tyson can be used for experimentation precisely because it is not untouched wilderness. “This is WashU’s hidden gem,” Natural Resources Coordinator and Staff Scientist Beth Biro said.
How does one study plants that no longer exist? In short: burnt seeds. Paleoethnobotanists sift through ancient dirt at archaeological dig sites to find seeds preserved by partial burning. Once back at the lab, they spend much of their time studying minute differences in seed morphology.
Humans evolved living among plants for millions of years––we feel more comfortable around them. As a college student in the urban Midwest, you are not in your natural habitat. Many of you do not see nature often. This can change. Just get a plant. It is that simple.
Feng Sheng Hu will serve as Washington University’s next dean of the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, July 1, Chancellor Andrew Martin announced today.
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