Kew gears up for 250th anniversary

31 December 2008 10:11am

Plants have never been more important to humans than they are now, the director of Kew said as the world-famous botanical gardens prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

Professor Stephen Hopper said plants were crucial as carbon sinks and as buffers against climate variation, while "vast numbers" of people still depend on wild plants for their survival.

He said the urgency of the issues the world faces makes it imperative that Kew helps to improve understanding of plants and their benefits for humans and build international collaboration on protecting plants.

2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and a number of major events will celebrate its role as a world leader in plant science and conservation.

During the year Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, at Wakehurst Place in West Sussex, aims to have collected and preserved seeds from 10% of the world's most vulnerable wild flowering plants - a year ahead of schedule.

Kew is also home to a DNA bank with more than 31,500 samples of plant DNA, a mycological collection of fungi and a collection of more than seven million preserved specimens of plants from around the world in the Herbarium.

A new extension to the Herbarium is set to open in 2009, helping Kew cope with the 30,000 new specimens it receives each year and preserving the international collection for researchers in a more modern setting.

And the Royal Botanical Gardens will be hosting a series of events and celebrations for its 250th, from a display of UK flowers such as orchids, the Garden Photographer of the Year competition and the re-opening of the Marianne North gallery with a display of paintings by the Victorian artist.

The anniversary year kicks off with free opening of the gardens in west London to the public on New Year's Day.

Prof Hopper said: "We believe that at no other point in history have plants been so important to people. They have importance as carbon sinks in a time of climate change, and we have to care for what remains and address the serious business of repairing and restoring vegetation if we're going to have the buffers to climate variation that plant life offers."

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