Wonders and marvels
Protecting biodiversity by raising awareness of the debt we owe plants and fungi, the problems they face and how our future depends on their continued survival.
Kew's two botanic gardens are beautiful green spaces, places to breathe fresh air and admire the beauty of nature. They also offer refuge to plants from near and far which are rare or endangered at home.
As a showcase for the diversity of plant life, our Gardens have the power to transform people's understanding of the role plants play in supporting life on Earth. The Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst are perfect places to get across the message that conservation isn't a luxury but a necessity, and to help people understand the vital role Kew plays in global conservation.
We are weaving that message into everything we now do, from our seasonal events and regular exhibitions, to children's activities, education programmes and new plantings.
Kew's Breathing Planet Programme (pdf) | Help Kew: Adopt a seed for £25
Using botanic gardens to inform and inspire
One of Kew's key aims is to inspire and inform visitors to the Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst on a daily basis, be they members of the public who come to Kew for a relaxing day out, researchers who come to consult its unrivalled Herbarium collections, or school children on an official educational visit.
- Using our gardens to inform visitors and inspire a passion for plant and fungal life
- Visit Kew Gardens
- Visit Wakehurst, home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank
Join the Great Plant Hunt
The Great Plant Hunt is the UK's biggest primary school science project. This exciting project encourages primary school students to explore the natural world around them and join other schools in the biggest ever school science project.
Forming part of the Darwin 200 initiative, The Great Plant Hunt invites primary school students to follow in the footsteps of Darwin by going on nature walks in and around their school grounds. They'll find out more about plants, and in the process learn key scientific skills.
Bringing Kew to you
Kew is involved in many activities in the UK and internationally that inspire new audiences with the natural world. By taking Kew to new places we can provide many more people with access to Kew's knowledge and expertise, and further showcase our commitment to the well-being of the world's plant and fungal life.
- Kew at Chelsea Flower Show 2011
- Australia Landscape at the British Museum 2011
- South Africa Landscape at the British Museum 2010
- Shanghai Expo 2010
Wonders & Marvels
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Science & Conservation news
Study finds sixty percent of UK species in decline
22 May 2013
Kew has contributed to a groundbreaking report on the state of wildlife in the UK in time for International Day of Biological Diversity. It reveals that 60% of species studied have declined over recent decades.
Conserving Darwin's Letters
by: Eleanor Hasler, Library, Art and Archives blog 17 May 2013
Discover more about the conservation work carried out on one of the most important, popular and fascinating collection in the Archives.
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Is our daily cup of coffee under threat?
08 Nov 2012
A new study from Kew suggests that Arabica coffee could be extinct in the wild within 70 years.
World's smallest waterlily brought back from the brink of extinction at Kew
18 May 2010
Kew’s top propagation ‘code-breaker’, horticulturist Carlos Magdalena, has cracked the enigma of growing a rare species of African waterlily. The 'thermal’ lily (Nymphaea thermarum) is believed to be the smallest waterlily in the world, with pads that can be as little as 1 cm in diameter.
