Kew announces Director of Conservation, Living Collections and Estates and Director of Public Engagement and Learning

Dr Tim Entwisle has been appointed as Director of Conservation, Living Collections and Estates, and Professor Angela McFarlane as Director of Public Engagement and Learning at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

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27 Apr 2011

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Dr Tim Entwisle, Director of Conservation, Living Collections and Estates.

Introducing Dr Tim Entwisle

Dr Tim Entwisle is a highly respected scientist and scientific communicator and joins Kew from the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust in Sydney, where he was Executive Director for over seven years.

For someone like me – passionate about plants and their stories – working at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a dream come true. What a treasure trove!

Dr Tim Entwisle, Director of Conservation, Living Collections and Estates, RBG Kew

The Conservation, Living Collections and Estates department brings together the Seed Conservation Department (The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership), Conventions and Policies team, and Horticulture at Kew Gardens, Wakehurst Place and Estates into a new department that offers the opportunity for a more collaborative approach that will enhance Kew’s ability to deliver its Breathing Planet Programme.

Dr Tim Entwisle says, “For someone like me – passionate about plants and their stories – working at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a dream come true. What a treasure trove! 30,000 different kinds of plants in gardens and glasshouses, another 30,000 in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, 250 years of plant expertise and two shop fronts like no others on Earth – Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place.

“My job, as I see it, is to generate knowledge and pleasure from this rich resource. I want visitors to be excited as I am about plants and to understand how important they are to life on earth. We eat plants, wear them, live in them and breathe the oxygen they produce. Just as importantly, plants give us beauty and inspiration.

“I want to see people flocking to Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place, whether in person or online (preferably both). I want them to marvel at the world of plants, to leave a little wiser and with a smile on their face. It’s as simple as that.

“Meanwhile the living plants and seeds under my control are the engine room of Kew’s Breathing Planet Programme. The scientists, horticulturalists and educators are using these collections, along with the preserved plants, for conservation programmes that make a real difference in the UK and worldwide.

“And what a time to arrive. The Australia Landscape at the British Museum, Kew’s first exhibit at Chelsea for many years and, for an Australian, a chance to enjoy the English spring and summer!

“We’ll have some tough decisions to make along with the rest of the country, but there is vital work to do and I’ll be playing my part in making sure Kew remains one of the great and revered botanic gardens of the world.”

Introducing Professor Angela McFarlane

Professor Angela McFarlane came to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on secondment in 2007 to take up the role of Director of Content and Learning from Bristol University, where she was Professor of Education.

Professor Angela McFarlane, Director of Public Engagement and Learning.

Professor Angela McFarlane says of her new role as Director of Public Engagement and Learning, “Ultimately, one of the most effective ways to protect biodiversity is to raise people’s awareness of the debt we all owe to plants, the problems they face and how our future is linked to their survival.

“Both Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place are powerful platforms from which to communicate and engage with people on this issue and it is vital that Kew’s science and conservation work is fully integrated into our visitor and education programmes, marketing and communications, on-site interpretation and the Kew website.

“I have taken on this role at a time when it has never been more important for the organisation to demonstrate and communicate the valuable contribution of its science and horticulture staff beyond Kew’s walls.”

Public Engagement and Learning is made up of the Content and Learning, Marketing, Public Relations, Visitor Services, Schools and Families, Adult Learning, Interpretation and Community Outreach teams.