Lessons From Plants: Insights For Human Thriving

How can plants teach us to be better humans?

Come listen to Dr. Beronda Montgomery explain how insights gathered from plant physiology can help us improve our lives and our society.

In her new book, Lessons From Plants (2021, Harvard University Press), Dr. Montgomery explores the lessons we can learn from plants about life, success and building diverse communities.

Far from being the static organisms most of us think they are, plants are masters of adaptation.

They distinguish kin, friend, and foe, and are able to respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity of fight-or-flight. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that allow them to maximize their chances of survival in a dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environment.

Lessons from Plants shows how we might improve human society by better appreciating not just what plants give us but also how they achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness? A simple question can help reframe the way we live:

What would a plant do?

Dr. Beronda Montgomery is a writer, science communicator and a Michigan State University Foundation Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics. She is a passionate advocate for the role of effective mentoring and leadership to promote success, especially with regards to underrepresented and underserved communities. She works actively to develop evidence-based strategies to foster and promote equity and inclusion in academia. Her research focuses on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues.

This talk is public and open to all. Masks are required in all Duke indoor environments.