Behind the scenes at the Raindrop Experiment

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.