Today Mary is talking to Dr Karen L. Bacon. Karen is a plant ecologist and palaeoecologist based in Botany & Plant Sciences at the National University of Ireland, Galway. She completed her PhD in plant palaeoecology in 2012 in University College Dublin. After spending several years in the UK, she returned to Ireland in 2019. Dr Bacon’s interests span palaeobotany to modern plant ecology and incorporates elements of plant biology, geology and chemistry. She is particularly interested in understanding plant extinction and how plants respond to environmental change both in a modern context and in relation to environmental upheavals, such as mass extinctions, in the geological record. She is also interested in taphonomy, the science of fossil preservation, and understanding what quality of information can be determined from the fossil record. Her modern ecological research focuses on invasive species, plant chemistry, ecosystem services, and plant awareness (plant blindness). Some links: Dr Karen Bacon NUI Galway page: https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/natural-sciences/kbacon/ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2020 State of the World’s Plants and Fungi: https://www.kew.org/science/state-of-the-worlds-plants-and-fungi BBC article on plant blindness: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190425-plant-blindness-what-we-lose-with-nature-deficit-disorder Biodiversity: National Biodiversity Data Centre (great resource): https://www.biodiversityireland.ie/ Some questions for people seeking election: -Do you consider biodiversity and the biodiversity crisis a priority? If no, why not? -How will you fund research and support for biodiversity in Ireland? -What do you think the most important thing the government can do to support biodiversity is? How will you achieve that? Recommended books A walk in the woods By: Bill Byron and William Roberts Wildflowers of Ireland By: Zoe Devlin Contact Mary mary@burrennaturesanctuaryie Check out Burren Nature Sanctuary on Instagram, Facebook or on the website www.burrennaturesanctuary.ie