Dr Christopher P Cockel

My role coordinating the UK Native Seed Hub (UKNSH) funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, brings together Kew’s science, seed collections and horticultural expertise to support UK habitat conservation in the UK. The seed hub supplies UK native seed and plants to support habitat restoration and species reintroduction projects, using our seed collections and expert nursery facilities at Wakehurst. We work with colleagues across Kew Science to provide research and evidence-based advice to conservation organisations, government agencies and businesses, as well as providing seed testing and advice to support Kew’s Grow Wild project. 

In addition, I support Kew’s work as part of the Living Ash Project (LAP) Phase 2, which alongside partners at the Future Trees Trust and Forest Research, aims to secure ash dieback-tolerant trees for future seed production and reintroduction. 

Prior to taking on my current role, I worked as the Coordinator of the Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change (Crop Wild Relatives) Project at the Millennium Seed Bank. Consequently, I also manage some of the Millennium Seed Bank’s partnerships in Asia, including with partners in India, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, and Vietnam, with a particular focus on the Pakistan Medicinal Trees and Shrubs Project which is part of the Garfield Weston-funded Global Tree Seed Bank Programme. From 2007-2011 I worked as a volunteer in the Herbarium at Kew on the Sampled Red List Index Project (SRLI).
 

• BCom (Upper Second Class Hons.), University of Birmingham, 1994
• MA, Environment and Development (Merit), SOAS, University of London, 1999
• PhD, Queen Mary, University of London 2011
• Member of the Society of Biology
• Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
• Member of the IUCN SSC Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group
• Member of the IUCN SSC Seed Conservation Specialist Group