Here is one more resolution for your list: “In 2013, I will communicate about plants to a non-specialist audience.” I think you know WHY (plant science is underfunded, plants are perceived as boring, or less important than animals, etc.), but here are some suggestions for HOW.
Participate in Fascination of Plants Day 2013 (http://www.plantday12.eu/home.htm#). Contact your local organizer to find out what’s planned, and either join in or create an event. Here is a summary of the 2012 event to inspire you (http://www.plantday12.eu/downloads2013/Success_EPSOglobal_FoPD2012.pdf).
Give a public lecture at a botanic garden, library, senior center, community group or other venue. You can talk about your research or about the roles of plants in our lives. Some of the Teaching Tools materials are easily adapted to a non-specialist audience, including “Why Study Plants?”, “Genetic Improvements in Agriculture”, “Plants, Food and Human Health”, and “Medicinal Plants”. (http://www.plantcell.org/site/teachingtools/teaching.xhtml).
Bring plants and a plant-based activity into a school classroom for an hour. Contact your local schools with a concrete proposal, and they’ll help to find a teacher who can work your idea into their curriculum. Many teachers have a very strict curriculum they have to follow, but if you can show them how your presentation fits into their needs they’re usually willing to bring you in as an invited guest. Here are some resources to guide and inspire you:
Activities you can do with school children: (http://bit.ly/12SGZ41) and lots more here (http://www.aspb.org/education/NEWK12.CFM) and here (http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/K-12/Pages/default.aspx) and here (http://www.saps.org.uk/). Here’s a first-person account of a day in the classroom: (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/culturing-science/2011/08/31/it-only-takes-one-day-bringing-scientists-into-the-classroom/). Here’s a UK resource to help you connect with teachers (https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/). Or, volunteer to be a mentor for a school group through Planting Science (http://www.plantingscience.org/) or at a school science fair: see more on p. 16 of this ASPB newsletter (http://newsletter.aspb.org/2004/marapr04.pdf).
Share a popular science book about plants. You can donate a copy to your public library, school library, or to your favourite high school biology teacher. Here are a few I’ve read recently that I’d like to share:
“What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses” by Daniel Chamovitz
“Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants” by Nicholas Harberd
“Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding” by Noel Kingsbury
"The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History” by David Beerling
“Eating the Sun” by Oliver Morton
“The Secret Life of Trees” by Colin Tudge
“Reinventing Life: A Guide to our Evolutionary Future” by Jeffrey Coker
“Reaching for the Sun: How Plants Work” by John King
“Tomorrows Table” by Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak
“The New Oxford Book of Food Plants” by J.G. Vaughan and C.A. Geissler
“The Natural History of Medicinal Plants” by Judith Sumner
"A Private Life of Plants" by David Attenborough (book and DVD!)
(if I missed any of your favorites let me know and I’ll add them!)
Plant scientists do have to shoulder a heavier burden of responsibility for communicating about our discipline than do animal biologists, but we also have a strong, supportive community and plenty of well-researched resources to make it easier. Have a very happy, fruitful year!