Tutor profiles

The tutors for Kew's talks and courses each have a wide range of knowledge and experience in many different fields.

Heather Angel

She is perhaps best known as a highly versatile nature photographer whose pictures have a strong artistic appeal as well as scientific authenticity. After reading for a zoology degree, she took up photography whilst undertaking research in marine biology. When her first book – Nature Photography: Its Art and Techniques – was published in 1972, Heather’s photographic career took precedence. She is the author of 55 illustrated books on natural history, photography and gardening, including Snow Monkeys (2009), Green China (2008), Panda (2008), Puffins (2007) and Macro - Through a Nikon lens (2007), A World of Plants, How to Photograph Flowers, Natural Visions and Wild at Kew. Since 1994 she has been a special Professor within the School of Biology at Nottingham University.

Giles Angel

Giles Angel is a co-founder and director of Vision Architects, a digital communications agency in London. He is a freelance commercial photographer and digital retoucher with a client list covering large corporate companies and independent artists.

Digital manipulation often plays a major role in the creation of his imagery. His commercial techniques in Photoshop are passed on through presentations and one-to-one tutorials, he also beta tests software for Adobe.

Erica Baxter

She been drawing since childhood and has a degree in Fine Art (Printmaking). Her work, generally landscape studies from individual commissions and exhibitions, is in private collections throughout the UK. Currently working for Sussex Police she was previously a Ranger at Wakehurst.

Matthew Biggs

Matthew Biggs is a broadcaster and writer and has been a professional gardener for over 25 years. He presented Channel 4’s ‘Garden Club’, is a panel member on BBC Radio 4's ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’, the author of Gardening at Eden – and how to do it at home and Matthew Biggs’ Complete Book of Vegetables, which was translated into five languages.

Barrie Blewitt

Barrie gained a degree in botany in 1979. He worked on experimental horticulture and plant-breeding before joining Kew in 1983. He has worked in both the Herbarium and Education and taken part in Kew expeditions to south east Asia. He has also taught and lectured in America, China, Turkey and Russia as well as the UK.

Jenny Clark

Jenny Clark is involved on a voluntary basis with a bat rescue hospital in Forest Row, West Sussex. She spends a great deal of time enthusing both children and adults alike about the fascinating world of bats.

Jim Durrant

Jim Durrant is nursery manager for McBeans Orchids, a specialist nursery founded in 1979 and based in Cooksbridge near Lewes in Sussex.

Annie Farrer

Annie Farrer has worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in a freelance capacity since 1974. She began with work on various floras in pen and ink and later also took on colour illustration for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine as well as other Kew projects such as Grasses of Bolivia and a monograph on the genus Biarum. She combines this with carrying out private commissions, teaching and lecturing.

Andrew King

Andrew is a hurdle maker based in West Sussex and is a member of the Surrey and Sussex Coppice Group.

Jonathan Kendon

Jonathan joined the Conservation Biotechnology Unit (formerly Micropropagation Unit) at Kew in 2008. Prior to this he gained experience in seed banking and tissue culture of carnivorous plants at the University of Sussex, where he obtained an MSc. His duties in the CBU involve maintaining and expanding the in vitro collection of tropical orchids and carnivorous plants, conducting research into cryopreservation strategies and culturing very rare plants that are difficult to grow conventionally. He also trains Kew’s Diploma students in micropropagation and tissue culture techniques as part of their Glasshouse placements.

Christopher Mills

Chrisopher Mills is Head of Library, Art and Archives at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Previously he was Head of Collections and Services at the Natural History Museum. While at the Museum he curated the Paper Kingdom and Images from Nature exhibitions which did much to bring to public attention the hidden library and art treasures held there. In his current role he has lead on the development of the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art and its associated programme of exhibitions and is one of the team working on the renovation and conservation of the Marianne North Gallery and its collection. Originally a geographer, he obtained his librarianship qualification at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He is currently Chair of the London Museums Librarians and Archivists Group.

Clive Nichols

Clive Nichols is one of the world’s most successful flower and garden photographers. He has won many awards for his work and in 2005 was voted ‘Garden Photographer of the Year’ by the Garden Writers Guild. His work has appeared in countless magazines, books and calendars throughout the world and he is in constant demand as a lecturer and teacher. He has appeared on British and Japanese TV, sits on the RHS 29 Photographic Committee and is a judge for the ‘Garden Photographer of the Year’ competition.

Edward Parker

Edward Parker is a specialist tree and forest photographer who, over the last 20 years, has worked in more than 40 countries around the world. He is co-author and photographer of the major book Ancient Trees – trees that live for a thousand years and has worked on numerous tree- and forest- related projects for organisations such as WWF, Tropical Forest Trust, and The Tree Council of the British Isles.

In addition he has written more than 30 educational books and his photographs have been on exhibition at Kew Gardens, Downing Street and the Horniman Museum as well as having been used at both the Earth Summits.

James Pumfrey

James Pumfrey is a team leader within the Woodlands and Conservation Unit at Wakehurst Place and regularly leads natural history observation evenings on the estate and in the Loder Valley Reserve. Through his work with trees, James has to be aware of the possibilities of finding wildlife, and working at Wakehurst Place for seven years has built up an excellent knowledge of the Estate and its inhabitants.

Paul Reader

Paul Reader is a horticultural manager at Wakehurst Place with experience of leading walks through the varied ornamental plantings in the Garden there. He particularly enjoys sharing his knowledge of the plants featured, their care and maintenance with visitors.

Steven Robinson

Steven Robinson grew up in Sussex and from a young age was interested in natural history. He developed his knowledge further by working and living in the countryside and is now warden for the Loder Valley Reserve which forms part of the Wakehurst Place estate. He relishes having a job which gives him opportunity to expand his knowledge and is constantly amazed by the rich natural diversity that Sussex offers.

Philip Seaton

Philip Seaton has been a biology lecturer and an amateur orchid grower for more than 30 years. He has a special interest and expertise in orchid seed storage and in micropropagation for conservation. He has taught seed storage and orchid micropropagation techniques in the UK and in several Latin American countries.

Dr Brian Spooner and Dr Martyn Ainsworth

Brian Spooner and Martyn Ainsworth are both senior mycologists at Kew. They both have a great deal of experience in the field and have travelled widely searching for fungi across the world.

John Waller

John Waller is an Underwoodsman. He manages and harvests coppice woodland using the wood in wattle hurdle making, basketry, pole lathe turning, chair & rustic furniture making and garden structures. He has run courses in these crafts for over 10 years both as a freelance tutor and for other organisations. He grows and harvests his own willow at Bore Place, an organic dairy farm and educational charity near Sevenoaks in Kent.