Behind the scenes at the Raindrop Experiment

Image
Sara Middleton in the grassland at Upper Seeds, Wytham Woods

Sara Middleton, Photo: Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Sara Middleton, a doctoral researcher in plant ecology and droughts, is a participant in the Wellcome exhibition Rooted Beings. Her article Beyond a green carpet tells the often overlooked story of plants, and asks us to recognise grassland as what it truly is - a complex environment supporting a richly diverse network of organisms. Sara's fieldwork is carried out on Upper Seeds at Wytham Woods, the location of the Raindrop Experiment. Her article provides a glimpse into the work carried out there, and the beauty encountered. 

"

During the yearly summer census at my field site at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire, I have come to learn some fascinating plant life stories. Grassland plants showcase a myriad of survival strategies, from magnificent mimics that play tricks on their pollinators to plants that make a living by befriending bacteria.

To find out about these plants which Sara has got to know over the last few years, read her full article on the Wellcome Collection website.

Sara's other projects include the Human Nature Stories Project and the Black British Biology Project.

Contact us

More news

Catch Wytham Woods on Countryfile on 5 November

Earlier in October, the BBC Countryfile team returned once more to Wytham Woods

Dr Keith Kirby completes vegetation plot monitoring

220 hours of data collection has been carried out by Keith in spring/summer 2023

Behind the scenes: Student fieldwork at Wytham Woods

Jake Dudderidge's experience of carrying out reptile surveys