The Botanics looks forward to hosting the Botanical Society of Scotland's first lecture of 2026 on 15 January featuring Dr Helen Kopnina.
Modern urban spaces frequently objectify plants by treating them as aesthetic background or functional tools (e.g. for air purification) rather than living entities with intrinsic value. This presentation explores how plants labelled as weeds are marginalised or eradicated because they do not fit human-designed urban categories of utility or beauty and provide alternatives.
The research uses an exploration of green spaces in Amsterdam as a case study to reflect on how social scientists and urban planners often fail to account for the complex socio-cultural and ethical status of non-human life.
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With thanks to the Botanical Society of Scotland for creating this lecture series and welcoming our members to it. You can find out more about BSS here
Venue note: To access the lecture please enter via the Science Buildings main reception, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR and follow the signs to the Lecture Theatre.
Note this is NOT the public entrance to the Gardens.