Living Herbarium Project

combating plant unawareness through experience

Abstract

This text presents and discusses the activities developed in the Living Herbarium Project – a university outreach initiative created in 2022, linked to the Niterói Herbarium (NIT) of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). The project aims to combat “plant unawareness” by bringing the community closer to knowledge about botany, plant diversity, and local flora. Open to public and private schools visits (to the NIT), from elementary to high school, the project promotes practical approaches, such as plant collection, observation, and herbarium preparation, offering participants an immersive experience in the botanical world. The physical encounter with botanical materials, mediated by the project team, aims to popularize the knowledge created and stored by herbariums, as well as to educate people outside academia about the importance of maintaining scientific collections safeguarded by public institutions. The practical activities stimulate recognition of the diversity of shapes, colors, and scents in nature, in addition to raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity, environmental conservation, and knowledge and appreciation of local native flora, contributing to the development of more conscious and conservationist citizens.