People

Alton, Steve

Job Title Seed Donations Officer
Department Seed Conservation
Section Collecting
Science Teams United Kingdom
UK Overseas Territories
Millennium Seed Bank Project
Joined Kew 1997
Foreign Language(s)

Qualifications & Appointments

BSc (Hons) Biology, Univ. of York, 1988

Role

Development and management of seed conservation projects with partners in New Zealand, Mauritius, the UK and its Overseas Territories.

Responsible for the development and management of partnerships between RBG Kew and organisations in countries not covered by the Millennium Seed Bank Project’s major ABSA-mediated Country Projects. Main duties include: seeking out and subsequently co-ordinating collaborations between Kew and partner institutions; building local plant conservation capacity through training and advice provision; seeking and subsequently administering external sources of funding, where necessary, to facilitate the above; managing, supporting and encouraging the involvement of local staff and volunteers in on-going seed conservation projects.

Projects

Darwin Initiative Assessment of the Coastal Biodiversity of Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Developing Ex Situ Conservation Collections of UKOTs Species In-Territory and at Kew

Plant Diversity Challenge: the Official UK Response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

Selected Publications 2001-2005

Alton, S. & Linington, S. (2001). The UK Flora Programme of the Millennium Seed Bank Project: the outcome of a collaboration between volunteers and professionals. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter (128): 1-10.

Alton, S. (2004). The Millennium Seed Bank Project international programme. Journal of Botanic Gardens Conservation International 1 (1): 15-16.

Selected Publications pre-2001

Alton, S. (1998). The Millennium Seed Bank Project. British Wildlife 9(6).