"Every child needs someone to introduce them to nature" - Rachel Carson author of Silent Spring In this episode we hear how one woman came up with the idea for a GCSE in Natural History - a way for children to be introduced to nature. So where did the idea come from, what would an exam look like, and how far has she got? She had the idea in 2011. In this episode we learn what it takes to introduce a new exam and the reasons that despite many setbacks, Mary Colwell is not giving up, indeed she is determined to see this through. Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy Can I dig into more plant stories? YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact. Our Plant Stories blog And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out. Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee THANK YOU! Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world! You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Mentioned in this episode: Buy Me A Coffee Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024 Check out the blog to see what happens! Our Plant Stories blog