{"id":948,"date":"2025-06-13T16:22:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T16:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/?page_id=948"},"modified":"2025-06-16T15:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T15:49:12","slug":"a-day-without-plants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/a-day-without-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day Without Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-a561f2e587aefbe3be2639da6830840d\" style=\"color:#4a8a63\"><strong>Welcome to #ADayWithoutPlants<\/strong>, where students try to survive 24 hours using as few plant derived products as possible.<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Inspired by the viral &#8220;ice bucket challenge,&#8221; Kelly Moore and I introduced <strong>A Day Without Plants<\/strong> in Fall 2019 in my General Botany 2310 course. It tasks undergraduate students with spending 24 hours completely without plant-derived products\u2014forcing them to experience firsthand how critical plants are in almost every aspect of daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Challenge Guidelines<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Duration:<\/strong> 24 hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rules:<\/strong> Avoid all products or items that contain plant ingredients\u2014ranging from food to household items, paper to plastics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Identification:<\/strong> Participants wear a challenge pin (provided by the instructor) throughout the day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Documentation:<\/strong> Students record each instance of dependence on a plant product and describe how they addressed or substituted it, using a simple tracking form.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/06\/adaywithoutplantspin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/06\/adaywithoutplantspin-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-954\" style=\"width:435px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/06\/adaywithoutplantspin-edited.jpg 500w, https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/06\/adaywithoutplantspin-edited-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>How to Participate<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Accept the challenge<\/strong> during class or via the lab session.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wear the pin<\/strong> visibly during the 24\u2011hour period.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Log your experience<\/strong> whenever a plant\u2011based item or substitute is needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Share your journey<\/strong> on social media using <strong>#adaywithoutplants<\/strong>. This can include photos, reflections, and surprising discoveries.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Educational Objectives<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Highlight the foundational role of plants<\/strong>: From cotton in clothing to cellulose in paper, plastics, and even fuel, the activity drives home how indispensable plants are.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Broaden ecological awareness<\/strong>: It creates a personal, detailed realization of how much our daily lives rely on plant-based resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Engage and inspire<\/strong>: The challenge creates a memorable and student\u2011driven learning experience with a social and reflective component, empowering learners to connect plant biology with everyday decision-making.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Real\u2011World Impact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the pilot run, students reported difficulty avoiding basic items such as paper, food, hygiene products, and clothing\u2014all plant\u2011derived. The challenge proved effective in helping students develop a richer understanding of plant importance and sparked vibrant conversation about sustainability and resource dependency .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Join the Conversation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a student, educator, or curious observer, you can follow the challenge through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Twitter &amp; Instagram:<\/strong> #adaywithoutplants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to #ADayWithoutPlants, where students try to survive 24 hours using as few plant derived products as possible. Inspired by the viral &#8220;ice bucket challenge,&#8221; Kelly Moore and I introduced &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-948","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":960,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/948\/revisions\/960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/skrosnick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}