Plants to the Rescue

Plants are amazing, complex organisms. In Plants to the Rescue, Vikram Baliga, a horticulturalist, takes readers through many ways that plants are helping humans deal with tricky environmental problems, from producing food to dealing with climate change. In fact, it could be said that plants are coming to our rescue!

For instance, did you know that spinach is helping scientists track and analyse issues in soil, from worm activity to pollution? Or that hydroponics is providing a new way for scientists to grow food without soil? What about the fact that scientists are saving plastic bag waste by making biodegradable bags from the prickly pear cactus instead?

This beautifully illustrated book is completely fascinating and full of facts about plants: readers will marvel at the powers of beetroot and aloe vera after reading. However, it also aims to inspire and reassure children that there are many exciting new developments in plant science that could provide real and lasting solutions for the problems we face today. There are some quite complicated terms included here and there, but there’s a useful glossary at the back which explains them in an accessible way.