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Pests, Diseases and Invasive Plants
- running a Clean Garden

PlantNetwork Spring Conference
22–24 March 2010
The Ridge, University of Sheffield

The threats to gardens from plant pests and diseases and invasive plants is increasing at a remarkable rate. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that we minimise current and potential problems by developing and improving best practice. There are legal and practical issues that gardens, however big or small, need to be aware of, and working together is vital to minimise the risks to gardens, arboreta and estates throughout Britain and Ireland.

At this meeting, we aim to bring everyone up to date with what gardens and organisations are already doing in response to current and potential threats from pests, diseases and invasives. We’ll consider where to seek advice, and how to choose from the range of advice on offer; principles of basic garden hygiene and managing and minimising the risk in gardens; training your staff, especially in relation to identifying and treating pests and diseases; how to cope with invasive plants now, and which species might be invasive in the future – horizon scanning; and taking responsibility for what’s in your garden; and raising public awareness.

We plan to include speakers from the Food and Environment Research Agency, Forestry Commission, Forest Research, National Trust, Royal Horticultural Society, the Non-Native Species Secretariat and other organisations, as well as reports from botanic and historic gardens. See below for an outline programme.

The conference will highlight responsibility (individual and collective), minimising of risks, and working together

The meeting will cover:

The work of the National Trust, the RHS, Fera, the Non-Native Species Secretariat, the Forestry Commission, and Forest Research
Where, and what advice is available – are all giving the same advice? (see our Plant Health Page for examples ...)
How to minimise the risks of problems in your garden
Our collective responsibility, codes of good practice, working together in gardens and estates throughout Britain and Ireland
How to cope with invasive plants now, and which species might be invasive in the future – horizon scanning, responsibility for what’s in your garden
Basic hygiene in gardens, training your staff
Training in identifying and dealing with Pests and Diseases

Outline Programme

Monday 22 March
From 6pm	Registration
7.30pm	Hot Buffet
Tuesday 23 March: Threats, responsibility, risk and advice
9am	Welcome and introduction Matthew Jebb, PlantNetwork Chairman Current and potential threats from pests, diseases and invasive plants; where to seek advice; how plant health organisations work together; diagnostics and research; contexts of UK & devolved administrations, and Europe; advice to the public .
9.05	New pest threats Chris Malumphy, Food and Environment Research Agency
9.30	New disease threats Charles Lane, Food and Environment Research Agency
9.55	Non-native invasive plants Niall Moore or Olaf Booy, GB Non-native Species Secretariat
10.20	Potentially invasive plants in European botanic gardens Matthew Jebb, European Consortium of Botanic Gardens
10.30am	COFFEE
11.00am	The EU Plant Health Regime Martin Ward, Food and Environment Research Agency
11:25am	Questions and discussion
12.30pm	LUNCH
1.30pm	Dave Tracy, Forestry Commission Diagnostic and Advisory Service
1.55pm	David Rose Forest Research, Alice Holt
2.20pm	RHS advice to public, surveys Andrew Halstead, Royal Horticultural Society
2.45pm	Questions and discussion
3.00pm	TEA
3.30pm	Visit to Sheffield Botanical Gardens Tour with Ian Turner, Curator, with reference to pests, diseases and invasive plants
5.45pm	PlantNetwork AGM
7.45pm	CONFERENCE DINNER at The Edge
Wednesday 24 March: Response by gardens and changing behaviour
9.00am	Welcome and introduction Matthew Jebb David Slawson, Head of Pest and Diseases Identification, Fera Experiences and responses in gardens to pests, diseases and invasive plants
	Reports from gardens on recent pests, diseases and invasive plants encountered in their gardens(what did you encounter; where did you seek advice and why; have you changed hygiene practice at the garden as a result; public awareness?)
	Phytophthora in NT gardens Ian Wright
	Ann Steele, National Trust for Scotland
	Paul Cook, Ness Botanic Gardens
	Tim Pettitt, Eden Project
10.30am	COFFEE
11.00am	Chris Reynolds, Bedgebury Pinetum
	Tim Upson, Cambridge University Botanic Garden
	David Knott (or Fiona Inches), 4 gardens of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
	Sara Redstone, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
12.30pm	LUNCH
1.30pm	Changing behaviour: what gardens can do
	How to protect your gardens from pests and diseases David Slawson, Food and Environment Research Agency
	Ian Wright National Trust
3.30pm	Discussion on codes of practice and best-practice protocols for gardens: bringing plants into gardens, quarantine, basic hygiene, plant husbandry, education and awareness for staff and visitors, training and more
5.00pm	Summing up and future actions
5.30pm	Depart
Thursday 25 March Chee Dale, The Ridge
9am to 3pm	Meeting (chaired by PlantNetwork) of PlantNetwork Trustees and Joint Behaviour Change and Biosecurity Working Group (Gardens and Parks) to take forward suggestions from the conference and plan what to do next.

Further details will be posted on the PlantNetwork website as the programme develops, and will also be available from Judy Cheney (see below).

Visit to Sheffield Botanical Gardens
During the meeting, we will be visiting the nearby Sheffield Botanical Gardens. The recently restored Glass Pavilions house a large collection of plants from South America, Australia and South Africa, while outdoors, the gardens host the National Collections of Weigela and Diervilla.

Booking and accommodation
The conference will run from registration at 6pm on 22 March to about 5.30pm on 24 March.

For a word version booking form click here (Word document), or
For a pdf version booking form, click here, further details and booking forms in Newsletter, or from:

Judy Cheney, PlantNetwork Administrator
c/o University Computing Service, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH
Tel 01223 763901, jc151 at cam.ac.uk

PlantNetwork is delighted to be able to offer a number of student places (without age limit) at a much reduced rate for this meeting. These will be offered on a first-come first-served basis, and should be accompanied by a letter of request, outlining the circumstances of the applicant.

For bursaries from the Historic and Botanic Bursary Scheme, see http://www.hbgbs.org.uk
(Fiona Dennis: tel 01737 244 664, fiona.dennis@english-heritage.org.uk)
or www.rhs.org.uk/learning/education/bursaries.htm