BCSS - Forum

Colin Walker wrote: ↑Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:44 pm Since you're studying Health Sciences rather than Natural Science, I strongly recommend a health slant so here are a few pointers:
- Certainly you must explain what succulents are and how they differ from all other plants.
- One of my own research interests is aloes, so you could certainly include Aloe vera since this is THE most famous succulent with medicinal uses and it's also the basis of a multi-billion dollar cosmetic and toiletry industry. There are centuries of history of its use as a herbal remedy.
- Other succulents also appear in the early printed herbals such as sedums, aeoniums, etc.
- Agaves are used for the production of various alcoholic beverages, notably Tequila.
- The cactus Lophophora williamsii is famous/infamous as the source of the psychoactive drug peyote. You could do a poster just on this plant alone.

How's that for starters?

RachelTurner wrote: ↑Tue Aug 23, 2022 5:15 pm Wow! Thanks everyone! I knew I'd come to the right place to ask the experts, but I wasn't expecting so much - I'm going to be very busy over the next few days!

Colin Walker wrote: ↑Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:44 pm Since you're studying Health Sciences rather than Natural Science, I strongly recommend a health slant so here are a few pointers:
- Certainly you must explain what succulents are and how they differ from all other plants.
- One of my own research interests is aloes, so you could certainly include Aloe vera since this is THE most famous succulent with medicinal uses and it's also the basis of a multi-billion dollar cosmetic and toiletry industry. There are centuries of history of its use as a herbal remedy.
- Other succulents also appear in the early printed herbals such as sedums, aeoniums, etc.
- Agaves are used for the production of various alcoholic beverages, notably Tequila.
- The cactus Lophophora williamsii is famous/infamous as the source of the psychoactive drug peyote. You could do a poster just on this plant alone.

How's that for starters?

Again, thanks for all the information. It hadn't occurred to me to do a health slant to it, but it makes perfect sense! The other option I was mulling over was health and housing, as I work in social housing and I'm currently trying to persuade my manager that we need to do more work in that area.

I'm actually a perpetual OU student, Colin. I did my first degree (psychology) with them over 20 years ago (and was warned at a summer school by an ex-student that the OU's very addictive ). I've since done a web design qualification with them, an ICT certificate, and a number of short courses, then decided a couple of years ago to do the health sciences degree (probably what I should have done originally, as I've always had a fascination with how the human body works (though from an early age apparently I wanted to know how things worked and used to take my toys apart to try and find out, and my poor dad had to then put them back together ).

I'm going to be busy with all this over the next few days. Thanks again for all the info.

RachelTurner wrote: ↑Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:35 am Hi everyone,

As promised, the results of my endeavours...(as it's an image file and I think the forum software shrinks images slighty, you may have to zoom your page to make out the text)



Had I more time (ideally I should have got my poster in on Thursday, but as I couldn't get any time off work last week, it was Friday before I submitted my poster) I would have put much more additional research in. I think my poster for next year's summer school will most probably be on the health and medicinal properties of cacti and succulents, which gives me a year to get some more research done!

Thanks again everyone for your input!

Rachel