Perceptions of Herbology: The Gardening Effect

Deemed "The Gardening Effect" because of its correlation to simplifying our understanding of plants and the work of Herbogists, the negative perception of Herbology has only begun to have a large effect in the last three hundred years. Let us now look into the historical side of the issue.

Long before the Statue of Secrecy, Herbologists played an important role in muggle and wizarding cultures. Especially in the realm of healing and medicine, Herbology was a well respected subject. Even in the late 16th century, Herbologists were well respected in Aboriginal circles in North America. What caused the decline in appreciation? Why do Herbologists today suffer mock and scorn from their contemporaries? Where did it all go so wrong?

The key to understanding this decline, most ironically, is the natural world. Our understanding of material existence has completely changed over the last five hundred years especially. There are many muggles today who express the opinion that nothing exists except the material world, or another words, everything that exists has to be something they can see and study. (Of course, we witches and wizards are very aware of invisible reality, and that our relationship with the world includes an awareness of a very special energy, our magic). In developing this view, however, the natural world became something of a toy, a specimen. No longer did these muggles behold the world in wonder and awe. It makes life very dry… and then the wizards caught on too. Of course, wizards didn't deny the existence of invisible and incomprehensible realities, but they found their own way to incorporate this unfortunate muggle view. Witches and wizards, I am very sad to say, decided that everything which could be a part of this natural world was decidedly muggle and inferior to our understanding of the world, precisely because it wasn't magic.

Now, and I hope some of you have thought about this objection by now, are we not a part of the natural world as well? Are we not magical as well? Yes we are! And magical creatures, are they not also a member of both realities? And what about plants… 

Yes, what about plants. I'd like to ask all of you to take a moment. Take a moment, and go outside. Breathe in the air, smell the grass, the trees, the rocks, feel the wind, taste the air, really taste it. Then, think about what you see. If it is night, look at the stars. Can you see any constellations? Ursa Major is my favourite, if you can find it. Our world is filled with spectacular magic. The physical, natural world is a part if our reality, although it is not all of it. But this physical natural reality joins with our own invisible, mystical reality. And plants, magical or muggle (but never truly mundane), are a beautiful, significant, complex part of everything. And this is why Herbology is an important field in magical study. 

Now that we've gone over how the negative perception of Herbology started, we should take a brief look on the effect it has on Herbologists today. First and foremost The Gardening Effect has an effect on funding. The wizarding population is hesitant about funding endeavours of Herbologists, much more so than any other academic field. Potioneers have been somewhat helpful on this front, sharing some research money in order to further our understanding of plants and their properties; however, this help is limited to research in areas where plants are able to contribute to potion making and may draw away from other practical knowledge Herbologist would like to gain. St. Mungo's gives a rather small donation to Herblogists' studies as well, but this is limited by a board of directors which is afraid of public perception of giving money to the field of Herbology. 

The field of Herbology also suffers by losing a number of excellent candidates to "more respectable" fields. Those who focus on Herbology often turn to potions or healing with their knowledge, rather than remaining directly in the field. No doubt, there is a lot of family pressure involved in the system. Herbologists make less money than others with the same amount of education, so no doubt this plays a role in people leaving the field as well. Public ridicule is to be expected as well. When something isn't going right in other circles of academics, Herbologists are often the scapegoat in the project. At parties, few are interested in talking after learning that one is a Herbologist.

To conclude our brief (somewhat brief, very brief compared to other discussions I have had on this matter) look at The Gardening Effect, I would like to ask you all to take a moment and consider your role. Where do you fit into the bigger story of the world? What are you going to do with your life? I hope that the next time you hear someone shrug off our field, you will be ready to say: no, that's not right. Herbology is important too! If you stay with this class through seventh year, I hope by then you will be able to make a very sophisticated argument as to why.

Alien Species

Herbologists face another major challenge when getting involved with field work: alien species (especially plants).  Other words which may be used to refer to alien species include non-indigenous, introduced, exotic, and invasive species. A definition of alien species would be a type of plant or animal living outside of its original habitat, ecosystem, or geological range. The many effects an alien species can have on an ecosystem present many challenges to the fells of Herbology, and indeed to the ecosystem itself.

For this lesson, we will be looking at the effects of invasive plants. Please remember, this is a controversial topic as governments, herbologists, muggle farmers and 'scientists' (scientists are a sort of muggle who seek to determine truths about the natural world. They are usually very helpful but can be known to overextend themselves. If you ever run into a muggle who says they are a sort of scientist, it is useful to remember they are probably quite smart) constantly disagree on details of the effects.

How invasion works:

1. The seed/plant propagates into new territory

2. The plant adapts to the new environment

3. The plant "takes over" the environment, growing in numbers that may be beyond what the ecosystem can handle (some plants are able to adapt, grow wild in the habitat, and not overextend itself)

Hazards alien plants pose

Invasive plants tend to require more resources, draining the ecosystem when they grow prolifically. Water is especially a problem. When alien plants take too much water, the ground can become too dry for other plants to survive, and cause extinction of another plant species. Also, sometimes the water supply drainage will affect how much fresh water nearby humans have available to them. It is estimated that invasive plants have taken up 7% more water resources in South Africa. Sometimes a plant which is harmless in its natural habitat can cause enormous harm to another ecosystem. Invasive plants can destroy land which is normally arable by drying out the soil. By changing the environment, flood and fire risks increase, which further damages the habitat. It is possible for an invasive species to cause mass extinction of plants and animals. Clearly, all these effect Herbologists working in the field. Invasive plants compromise research, and can even destroy the survival chances of rare herbs and other endangered plants. Loss of arable land limits other areas which are kept natural for growing. 

As awesome as greenhouses are, Herbologists often learn more from growing a plant in its natural habit, and observing its natural use. For example, pregnant crups often eat from a field of largrass (along with their regular meat diet). This strange behaviour of a crup (repeated in further studies, so that we knew it wasn’t an isolated incident) led to the discovery of how largrass soothes morning sickness. Herbologists were able to observe natural largrass, found that carnivorous crups consumed it, and correlated the information they gained to further our knowledge of the medicinal properties of largrass.

Did you know? Dandelions were introduced to North America in order to help strengthen the ground, to root the soil in so that it wouldn't blow away? Remember, you will want Dandelion seeds in order to get through second year Herbology. (If you cannot obtain Dandelion seed, I recommend grass seed, or find something else which grows quickly. If you find a seed other than dandelion, you will need to do your own research. Dandelions are preferred as they are classified as a magical plant, which will be explained in detail in second year.