Saving lives one leaf at a time: how plants can protect people from blast threats

• With specialist engineering, natural properties of certain plants can help protect people and infrastructure from explosions
• Our experts have developed living protective barriers, creating a more sustainable, appealing way to increase public safety at large event venues and public areas
• The project, Blast Ecoshield, conceived and led by Cranfield's Dr Rachael Hazael CEng, will be exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 for the first time.

New research has revealed how everyday plants can help protect the public from blast impacts, whilst transforming cities into greener, healthier spaces. The innovation is part of a four-year research project with experts that designed, experimentally validated and commercialised a potentially life saving product.

Blast Ecoshield, a modular plant barrier, will be exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 and has potential applications at arenas, large scale public events, high-profile venues such as conference centres and in protecting critical national infrastructure.

Conceived and developed by Dr Rachael Hazael, Reader in Applied Materials at Cranfield University, the groundbreaking work has explored how certain native plant species naturally behave like protective engineering materials.

A survivability specialist who has spent years researching protective materials, Dr Hazael has conducted over 50 extensive blast experiments to study how plants dissipate energy. The results showed that when arranged in specific ways, the living structures of plants can mitigate the impact of an explosive blast significantly.

Nature inspired engineering with real potential

"Plants have evolved over millions of years to survive extreme heat, pressure and movement," explains Dr Hazael. "Some of those characteristics mirror the properties we design into protective clothing and blast-resistant materials. Once you join the dots and enhance these properties with engineering, the potential for using plants to help protect people becomes incredibly exciting. Nature offers brilliant engineering solutions; we just need to harness them."

The project has identified plant types with just the right balance of flexibility and strength, focusing on native species that look good year-round, which support biosecurity, and can even be colour-matched for major events like state visits or sporting fixtures.

Bringing together explosive engineering, materials behaviour and horticultural design, the modular vegetated physical barriers give protection whilst remaining sustainable. The concept is now being developed into a university spin-out, Blast EcoShield, with plans to bring the innovation to market.

A green way to keep people safe

The project aligns with a number of national and international policies including Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, and outputs of the UN Climate Summit COP 27. It also supports the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (also known as Martyn's Law), which focuses on improving public safety in crowded places.

Currently, large venues, city centres and event spaces rely on heavy barriers and security fencing to reduce vulnerability. But these can create a negative atmosphere for visitors. In contrast, green living walls offer a subtle, discreet, sustainable and effective protection for people and infrastructure. The concept developed will improve wellbeing whilst meeting safety requirements.

As cities face growing pressures from climate change and public safety, this project could help shape a new generation of sustainable and safe urban design.

"Cities are already embracing greener design to tackle pollution, heat and mental health challenges," says Dr Hazael. "If we can enhance that greenery so it also provides passive protection, it really is a win-win."

A showcase at RHS Chelsea

Blast Ecoshield will be exhibited at RHS Chelsea's GreenSTEM area in the Great Pavilion. The display will include a selection of the plant species tested in the research, blast experiment footage, demonstrations to show how plants interact with a simulated blast wave, and an eco-friendly stand constructed from reclaimed materials including wood from aerodynamic wind tunnels. The stand is fully accessible with ramps and QR codes for audio commentary.

After the show, the entire garden will be relocated to the Defence College for Military Capability Integration at the UK Defence Academy, where Cranfield is academic provider to the UK Ministry of Defence. The garden will give students the opportunity to see how protecting people from explosive blasts can be done more sustainably.

For more information visit the website: https://www.blastecoshield.co.uk