Dr Alicja Babst-Kostecka from Władysław Szafer Institute of Botany within Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków won the award of the Ministry of Investment and Development ‘Polish investments of the future’ in the ‘Innovations for the environment’ category.

The aim of the prize is to award people who successfully implement ambitious projects for environmental protection.
The subject of the awarded project is the Haller’s cress (Latin Arabidopsis halleri) – a white-flowering perennial which has spread to mining heaps and mines, i.e. contaminated areas with high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil.

Haller’s cress attracted the attention of scientists thanks to its ability to survive in such conditions. It turned out that it is a so-called hyper accumulator and can accumulate from 100 to 500 times more heavy metals than other plants. Dr Babst-Kostecka’s team prepared an EU project to check its features and how it can be used.