A Botanical Learning Workshop with Students from St. John’s Primary School, Ikiṣẹ
On the 27th of March 2025, as part of her ongoing residency at G.A.S., London-based ethnobotanist Jonn Gale facilitated a community-based workshop for students from St. John’s Primary School, Ikiṣẹ.The session introduced the young learners to foundational concepts in botany and herbarium collection, offering a hands-on opportunity to explore the natural world and their environment. The workshop formed part of Jonn’s 12-week residency, during which she has been based primarily at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ. Her research explores traditional plant knowledge, medicinal practices, and ecological systems, bridging ethnobotanical inquiry with local expertise and broader environmental questions.
The session began with a brief introduction from Jonn, who presented her research and outlined the focus of the workshop. She explained the purpose of a herbarium—a collection of dried plant specimens that are stored, catalogued, and arranged by family, genus, and species for study—and how such collections capture both the scientific and cultural knowledge of plant life.
Rather than collecting live specimens in the field, students worked with a curated selection of plants prepared in advance. They were provided with glue, paper, and other materials to create their own pressed specimens. Throughout the session, staff from both the school and G.A.S. were on hand to guide the children, offering practical knowledge of local plant life and supporting their exploration. During the herbarium workshop, the children were encouraged to think creatively and explore alternative ways of classifying plants beyond traditional scientific methods. This approach allowed them to explore the plants on a more personal, sensorial and imaginative way.
Each specimen includes a handwritten label bearing the name of the child who made it, along with their own unique descriptions.
The workshop will culminate in a complete herbarium collection of pressed plants, which Jonn will compile and share with the school, extending the impact of the workshop beyond the classroom. The digital catalogue of their collection will feature both standard botanical classifications and the children's original entries. By incorporating their ideas, the catalogue highlights the importance of their contributions and reinforces the value of collaborative, creative approaches to scientific documentation.
Event Details
Date: 27th March, 2025
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: G.A.S. Farm House, Ecology Green Farm, Yinka Shonibare CBE Street, Ikiṣẹ, Off Omu ljebu Road, liebu.
About the Facilitator
Jonn Gale
JONN GALE is a London-based ethnobotanist working across botanical collections. Her work combines speculative analysis of historical and archival material, ethnobotanical research, and sensory-focused visual ethnography as a means of generating more multiverse, relational, process-focused, and horizontal botanical archival research practices. Her practice centers on nonlinearity, multi-species livability, and the agency, endurance, and affective temporalities of botanical objects as historical actors capable of narrating alternative histories. She is currently undertaking a practice-led, AHRC/CHASE-funded collaborative doctorate at Birkbeck, UOL, and the Linnean Society of London, investigating the contributions of Black naturalists to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century natural knowledge. Her research involves the study of botanical specimens and manuscripts held at the Linnean Society, identifying and tracing hidden actors, mapping knowledge networks, and developing a new decolonial approach for recovering and sharing information from this archive.
Jonn Gale's residency is supported by CHASE and G.A.S. Foundation.
