Bully a Plant IKEA

Verbal bullying is an issue that is commonly overlooked in schools in this region, and the effects of it are noticed too late. And kids don’t even notice when they partake in the act because they don’t realize that words have a huge impact on how people feel. While parents and teachers are unaware of it even taking place. We wanted to speak to the right audience about stopping bullying in a way that they would find interesting and amusing, while still triggering a change in behavior.
Studies prove that plants respond to verbal stimuli just like humans. If we could prove that words have such a negative impact on plants, we could make students realize that the impact is much stronger on fellow students. So we set up an experiment at a local school with two IKEA plants. Our experiment visually showed kids what words can do to a living thing. We directly spoke to the right audience through something school kids are familiar with- an experiment. We involved the children every step of the way by interviewing them to hear their stories, getting them more involved with the cause. And since school is a place they learn in every day, we saw it as the perfect place to set up the experiment. As the plants changed, so did the mindsets of the students’.