Making Sense of the World Around Us Organising the way we understand nature helps us to create order. Knowing whether a plant is toxic or safe to eat shows just how vital this process can be to our survival. The rocks, minerals, plants and animals of Wales have been at the heart of this study over the last 200 years. Charles Darwin and Welsh naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace both used systems developed in Wales to help them study the natural world. Museum curators study, name and organise specimens in order to develop and communicate our understanding of nature.