Appointment to the Board of Trustees

28 June 2012

Professor Malcolm Press has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Lord Taylor.

Biography

Malcolm Press is a Professor of Ecology at the University of Birmingham. He is currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Life and Environmental Sciences. He previously worked at the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester. Malcolm’s research is on interactions between parasitic plants and their hosts, environmental change in Arctic ecosystems and tropical rainforest ecology. He has written over 150 papers and articles.

Malcolm’s recent roles include presidency of the British Ecological Society (2007-09) and membership of the Natural Environment Research Council’s Science and Innovation Strategy Board (2007-10). He is currently a member of the National Trust Council and Deputy Chair of the Research Excellence Framework’s Biological Sciences sub-panel.

Ends

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact Anna Quenby, Head of Public Relations, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - 020 8332 5607 / pr@kew.org

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and RBG Kew’s country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. Wakehurst is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10 per cent of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species). The aim is to conserve 25 per cent by 2020, and its enormous potential for future conservation can only be fulfilled with the support of the public and other funders.

Kew receives funding from the UK Government through Defra for approximately half of its income and is also reliant on support from other sources. Without the voluntary monies raised through membership, donations and grants, Kew would have to significantly scale back activities at a time when, as environmental challenges become ever more acute, its resources and expertise are needed in the world more than ever. Kew needs to raise significant funds both in the UK and overseas. Members of the public can support the work of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership by getting involved with the ‘Adopt a Seed, Save a Species' campaign. For £25 an individual can adopt a seed or for £1000 anyone can save an entire species. www.kew.org/adoptaseed.