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Public Education
KEW LECTURES
LECTURES AT KEW
The Kew lectures will take place in the Jodrell Lecture Theatre accessed via Jodrell Gate on Kew Road. Tickets can be purchased from our office in advance or will be available to buy at the door on the day (unless sold out).
Darwin’s Garden
Michael Boulter
Tuesday 24 February
7pm
Venue: Kew
Five years after returning from his trip around the world on HMS Beagle, the young Charles Darwin became the owner of Down House in Kent where he moved his growing family, far away from the turmoil and distractions of London. He would live there for the rest of his long life and was greatly attracted to the garden.
In this illustrated lecture, based on the recently published book of the same name, we will learn how Darwin used the garden as his laboratory and how his experiments, conducted over 150 years ago, continue to contribute to the work of others today.
Michael Boulter was previously Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of East London and head of a team analysing Fossil Record 2, the largest database of information on extinct animals and plants. He is the author of Darwin’s Garden and Extinction and currently works at the Natural History Museum. He has been secretary and editor for the International Organisation of Palaeobotany for the past 20 years.
All tickets: £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
The Gardens at Kew
Allen Paterson
Thursday 30 April
7pm
Venue: Kew
With over a million visitors a year, Kew is one of the world’s best loved gardens. As well as having a fascinating history and holding an unchallenged position as the world’s leading botanical research institute, it is a paradise for plant lovers offering a wealth of ideas and inspiration for every gardener.
In this illustrated lecture based on his souvenir book published to celebrate Kew’s 250th birthday, Allen Paterson charts Kew’s remarkable history from private pleasure ground to tourist destination and conservation organisation.
Allen Paterson was from 1973 to 1981 Curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden and from 1981 to 1993 Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario. He is a Distinguished Advisor to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and formerly a council member of the Royal Horticultural Society, Convener of the Gardens Committee of the National Trust for Scotland and President of the Kew Guild. He is also the author of a dozen books on horticultural topics.
All tickets: £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
Why not buy the book for the author to sign at the lecture? Copies usually available from our bookshop at Victoria Plaza or by mail order on 0208 332 5654
Carnivorous Plants: Many Ways to Kill
Professor Mark Chase
Thursday 25 June
7pm
Venue: Kew
This illustrated lecture will present the many types of carnivorous plants and where they live. Plants that eat animals have a diversity of methods of trapping their prey, some obvious and some subtler. Darwin was fascinated by these methods, but he did not know how the various groups of carnivorous plants were inter-related, which prevented him from appreciating the degree to which these killing methods evolved independently. This lecture will describe how much we now understand about these fascinating examples of plant aggression.
Mark Chase has worked in the Jodrell Laboratory for 17 years and has been Keeper there for the past three years. He has published three books and been an editor of the Genera Orchidacearum series (five volumes published, one more planned); he has published over 350 research articles on many aspects of flowering plant evolution.
All tickets £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
MILLENNIUM SEED BANK LECTURES
Come and find out all about one of the world’s most exciting and ambitious conservation projects in this special series of three lectures.
Save! Attend all three Millennium Seed Bank lectures for £10
The International Programme of the Millennium Seed Bank Project
Dr Paul Smith
Thursday 7 May
7pm
Venue: Kew
The Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) works with more than fifty organisations around the world to find, collect and bank seeds on behalf of future generations. Kew has forged partnerships with a wide range of organisations including government departments, universities, seed banks and NGOs, and has provided technical leadership and support to ensure that seed is collected and handled to the highest international standards. In this lecture Dr Paul Smith, Head of the MSBP, will illustrate the diversity of partnerships within the MSBP international programme and give some case examples on how the partnerships actually work in practice.
Dr Paul Smith is a specialist in ecology and plant diversity in southern, central and eastern Africa. He has extensive experience in ecological surveying, botanical inventory, vegetation mapping and monitoring, including the use of Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing techniques. He has also worked in park planning and ecotourism in Zambia’s Luangwa valley. Paul holds both a BSc and a PhD from the University of Kent.
In 2000 Paul was appointed Southern Africa and Madagascar co-ordinator for Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Project. In August 2005, Paul became the leader of the Millennium Seed Bank Project which is aiming to save the world’s most endangered plant species from extinction.
All tickets: £5 (or attend all three Millennium Seed Bank lectures for £10)
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
Tools used by Modern Plant Collectors
Michael Way
Tuesday 2 June
7pm
Venue: Kew
The Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) targets the most rare, threatened and useful plants for seed collection and storage. Each year, MSBP seed collecting teams throughout the world carry out expeditions to the remotest parts of the planet. Compared to our plant hunting predecessors, we have an impressive range of methodologies and tools to help us find the rarest plant species out there. From old records to geographical information and positioning systems, to whatever form of transport that will get us there - from customised 4x4 vehicles or our own two feet.
In this lecture Michael Way, the Americas Co-ordinator, will explain the use of these methodologies and tools, and give examples of the re-discovery of some of the world’s rarest plants as well as some that remain lost.
Michael Way is an ecologist who co-ordinates the Americas activities of the Millennium Seed Bank Project. He has extensive experience of the science and practice of seed collecting and conservation and has carried out dozens of seed collecting expeditions since joining Kew in 1993.
Before joining Kew he worked with UK landowners and public agencies on habitat protection, designation and management on behalf of English Nature, one of the UK’s national conservation agencies. He is now responsible for RBG Kew’s input into seed conservation projects in Chile, Mexico, and the USA, where he takes a particular interest in integrated conservation strategies and capacity building.
All tickets: £5 (or attend all three Millennium Seed Bank lectures for £10)
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
Keeping Seeds Alive: The Technology of Seed Banking
Dr Robin Probert
Thursday 2 July
7pm
Venue: Kew
Approximately, 90% of the flowering plants on earth have evolved
seeds that can withstand drying. In nature this enables seeds to remain
alive, sometimes for many years, until conditions are favourable for germination
and plant growth. Seed conservationists merely exploit this natural trait
and by carefully drying and then freezing seeds we can keep them alive
for many years.
The science and technology of seed banking was first worked out for crop species which are generally easy to store and easy to germinate. Although the seeds of wild plants are more difficult, Kew has been successfully storing them for future generations for nearly 40 years and the Millennium Seed Bank is the world’s foremost facility for their long-term conservation. Kew has achieved this because of its investment in seed science and technology.
We can now better predict how long seeds of different species will survive in the seed bank and we have unlocked some of the dormancy mechanisms that protect seeds from germinating at the wrong time in nature. This is vital so that we can germinate seeds and turn them into healthy plants when they are needed in the future.
In this lecture, Dr Robin Probert will explain the science and technology of seed banking and demonstrate how you can replicate this in your own homes to save seeds of your favourite plants.
Dr Robin Probert is Head of Technology & Training at the Millennium Seed Bank. Robin started as an undergraduate student in 1974 when Kew’s seed physiology unit and fledgling seed bank had only just moved from Kew to Wakehurst Place. He became a full time member of staff in 1976 and is now the seed bank’s longest serving member of staff. Robin leads the Technology & Training section which is responsible for applied research and for the co-ordination and delivery of technology transfer to the MSB’s international partners.
Robin is a member of the Seed Conservation Department’s senior management team. He is on the editorial board of the journal Seed Science Research and is a trustee of the International Society for Seed Science.
All tickets: £5 (or attend all three Millennium Seed Bank lectures for £10)
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
LECTURES AT WAKEHURST PLACE
The Wakehurst Place lectures take place in the Millennium Seed Bank Seminar Room. Tickets can be purchased from our office in advance or will be available to buy on the door on the day (unless sold out).
Islands
Professor R J Berry DSc, FIBiol, FRSE
Tuesday 17 March
2pm
Venue: Wakehurst Place
In this lecture, based on the recently published New Naturalist Guide, we will hear about the factors that have moulded the various fauna and flora of all the islands around Britain and Ireland. Some - like the Isle of Wight and Anglesey- have a biota very similar to their nearest big neighbour, albeit without the losses due to introduced pests and human depredation; others have a depauperate biota and many local forms. Islands formed an important part of Darwin’s thinking as he refined his ideas about evolution, which he developed with the help and stimulus of his friend Joseph Hooker. Hooker himself contributed to an understanding of island biology through his Antarctic voyage on the Erebus; his 1866 lecture to the British Association on “Insular Floras” remains an important summary of the determinants of island biogeography. Although the British and Irish islands do not have as many endemics as Hawaii or the Galapagos, some of their species show divergence and differentiation and demonstrate the processes which have been active in more isolated groups.
Sam Berry was Professor of Genetics at University College London 1978-2000. He is a former President of the Linnean Society, the British Ecological Society and the European Ecological Federation. Much of his research has been on the genetic factors operating on island populations. He has worked on Skokholm, the Isle of May, Orkney, Shetland, Faroe, Hawaii, and several Antarctic islands. He is the author of three previous volumes in the New Naturalist series: Inheritance and Natural History (1977), Natural History of Shetland (with Laughton Johnston)(1980), and Natural History of Orkney (1988). In 2008 he gave the Hooker Lecture to the Linnean Society on “Hooker and Islands”.
All tickets: £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
A Prickly Affair: My Life with Hedgehogs
Hugh Warwick
Tuesday 7 July
2pm
Venue: Wakehurst Place
Hedgehogs are often our first encounter with the animal world, yet their numbers are now declining rapidly in Britain, down 20 percent in the last ten years. In this illustrated lecture, based on his recently published book, Hugh will introduce us to these endearing, yet little-understood, mammals and give a few tips on how to make your garden more hedgehog friendly.
Hugh Warwick has been a hedgehog obsessive for over twenty years, ever since an expedition to the Orkney Islands in 1986. From radiotracking hogs in Devon, to working with Hogwatch to record the current numbers of hedgehogs in the British Isles, Hugh has also been involved in the research that was instrumental in halting the hedgehog cull in the Uists. He has been made a trustee and life member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society in recognition of his contribution to hedgehog conservation.
All tickets: £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
The Woodland Year
Ben Law
Thursday 22 October
7pm
Venue: Wakehurst Place
In this illustrated lecture, we will gain a fascinating insight into every aspect of sustainable woodland management via the cycles of nature and seasonal tasks. We’ll learn about Ben’s yearly cycle of work, his naturally attuned lifestyle and his deep understanding of his woods - a way of life that is economically and ecologically viable and sets a new standard for managing our woods in a low impact, sustainable way. This, as such, holds some of the fundamental keys to how we can achieve a lower carbon society.
Ben Law lives and works at Prickly Nut Woods in West Sussex, where apart from making a living from coppicing he trains apprentices and runs courses on sustainable woodland management, ecobuilding and permaculture design.
He is author of The Woodland Way, a permaculture approach to sustainable woodland management and The Woodland House, which charts the building of his unique cruck framed home in the woods. The building of his house was filmed for Channel 4’s Grand Designs and proved to be the most popular programme of the series.
Ben’s third book The Woodland Year, was published in September 2008.
All tickets: £5
This lecture has been generously supported by the Dr. H. Shawdon Charitable Trust
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