Press Release

Kew's Archive Collection - Free Exhibition & Talk

The Fabulous History of Plant Hunting, 18th-20th Centuries

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Archives team is holding a special exhibition and series of FREE tours and talks on special dates in October, November and December as part of the Archive Awareness Campaign 2006. The events, being held in the Herbarium at Kew Gardens, aim to encourage both existing users and new users to appreciate archives.

Come and find out, through original archive documents, about the history of plant hunting under Joseph Banks in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and later under the Hookers' directorship. This will be a unique opportunity to discover what it was like to travel in new distant lands, and learn about the plants, the landscapes and the people that these intrepid travelers met.

Tour dates and times are as follows:-

14 Oct 11am
20 Oct 2.30pm
27 Oct 2.30pm
11 Nov 11am
23 Nov 2.30pm
7 Dec 2.30pm

Please note that the maximum number of visitors on a tour will be 12.

Places must be pre-booked by contacting Michele Losse on 020 8332 5417 or m.losse@kew.org.

Allow up to 1 hour for the talk and time for looking at the exhibition.

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact Anna Quenby, Lauren Bird or Oliver Basciano in the Kew Gardens press office on 020 8332 5607 or email pr@kew.org.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG, 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. www.kew.org.

Archives Awareness Campaign

The Archive Awareness Campaign is an ongoing campaign which aims to unlock the potential of archives and encourages existing, new and different users to experience all that archives have to offer. For more information on the campaign please go to www.archiveawareness.com or contact Elise Oliver, Archive Awareness Campaign Officer, on 020 8392 5237 or email elise.oliver@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

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