There was a very worrying report recently about the future of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Along with many other organisations, Kew has been asked accept the fact that funding will be reduced in the present economic climate. The result of this will be the loss of 125 jobs and threatens the future of one of the leading botanic institutions in the world.
Kew Gardens, in west London, has been a world class centre for plant research for the last 250 years. Kew’s collections and scientists are recognised throughout the world as a vital resource into climate change and its effects on biodiversity, crop production and conservation. It is a Unesco World heritage site and as such attracts 2 million visitors a year to its magnificent plant collection, the largest in the world.
The grounds of Wakehurst Place, part of Kew in West Sussex, are the site of the Millenium Seed Bank which is an international project that aims to preserve and protect plants from around the world.
It cannot be stressed too strongly how important plants are to our planet and to us. Simply, without them we would not exist as they provide us with oxygen to breathe, food and water to live and are the basis of many medicines. It is vital that, as the climate changes and crops are affected that we have the facilities to continue the research that has been happening at Kew since Victorian times and which we will need for the future.
Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.
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