Combatting plant awareness disparity (PAD) with undergraduate teachingLauer, Grayson HouseplantsPlantsPlant ScienceBotanyScience EducationTeachingHorticultureUndergraduate TeachingHigher EducationUndergraduatesConservationEndangered SpeciesSelf-EfficacyHorticultureB SIn 2026, there are over 48,000 species listed as “vulnerable,” “endangered,” “critically endangered,” or “extinct in the wild” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Plants, one of the most diverse groups of organisms on the planet, make up 61% of these species, but receive only 2% of United States federal funding for endangered species conservation. Research from the past 30 years has indicated that humans tend not to notice or care about plants as much as they do animals, a phenomenon termed “plant awareness disparity,” or PAD. This study examines an introductory undergraduate course on houseplants and finds that while this educational intervention can increase students’ level of care about houseplants and confidence in their own abilities to grow houseplants, that level of care does not extend to global plant conservation more broadly without explicit instruction.Elsa Sánchez, Thesis SupervisorElsa Sánchez, Thesis Honors AdvisorLiana T Burghardt, Faculty Readeropen_access2026-04-13T18:21:51Zhttps://honors.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/10241gfl5183