MEETINGS	NEWSLETTER	2006-2010 STRATEGY PLAN
	ABOUT US	DIRECTORY	DOWNLOADS

In recent years PlantNetwork has undertaken fund-raising to engage in a number of significant projects. Many of these projects are being done in collaboration with other organisations, including English Heritage, the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Lantra (Land-based industries training organisation), and Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
We are greatly indebted to the Forestry Commission, the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, The friends of Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, John Spedan Lewis Trust and the Dulverton Trust for generous donations towards these projects.

Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
Target 8 project
Heritage and Botanic Garden Training Bursaries Scheme
Careers, skills and salary survey
Issues surrounding Plant Health and Diseases
Special Publications

In order for PlantNetwork to fully engage with this strategy, we are currently engaged in two collaborative projects to utilise the horticultural expertise and facilities in gardens throughout Britain and Ireland to support conservation programmes on our most threatened plants.

• Cultivation and Propagation Database Project funded by the Stanley Smith (UK) Horticultural Trust, this database was originally designed and built by Diane Wyse Jackson of Botanic Gardens Conservation International, based at Kew.
  This project is aimed at documenting and sharing knowledge and skills of staff in botanic gardens. The aim is to create an on-line database of information on cultivation and propagation of individual species. This will be developed from a sample database on cultivation and propagation methods for plants in botanic gardens, produced by Botanic Gardens Conservation International in 1992.
  It is envisaged that three versions of the database will be trialed:
  • The threatened plants of Britain and Ireland dataset: This will support the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation efforts in these islands. Protocols will be submitted and peer-reviewed before being added to the on-line dataset.
  • Botanic Garden plants: The Glasshouse Forum and Propagation Forum will add information to a password-accessed dataset, which will form a constantly enlarging, and unmoderated dataset.
  • Plants of the world dataset: The original idea behind BGCI's development of the database was to provide a resource to Botanic Gardens of the world to share cultivation protocols with one another. This dataset will be hosted by BGCI, and the former two datasets will be amalgamated with this set from time to time.

• Target 8 project

  Target 8 of the Global Target for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for 60% of threatened plants species to be conserved in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery programmes by the year 2010.

  View the current status of the project here ...

  New set of 2010 Targets set at PlantNetwork Conference
  At the PlantNetwork conference on Practical Plant Conservation at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin in April 2005, a set of targets were developed for members achieve by 2010 in the conservation of endangered plants in Britain and Ireland.

  • Proceedings of the Conference (PowerPoint presentations)
  • Download of Targets document (pdf)

  A survey to find out which threatened native plant species are grown in living collections in botanic and heritage gardens and where
  A PlantNetwork survey was undertaken in 2003 to determine which species on the then Red Data List in the British Red Data Book 1: Vascular Plants (3rd edition 1999, Ed M J Wigginton) were currently in cultivation in which botanic and heritage gardens in Britain and Ireland. Some preliminary funding of £3000 towards this project was obtained from the Stanley Smith (UK) Horticultural Trust. This enabled two surveys to be carried out (by Natacha Frachon at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh). The first survey of 116 gardens was responded to by 78 gardens: 52 gardens held one or more threatened taxa, with a total of 136 (of the then 204 threatened taxa) as live plants (165 as seed).
  The second survey, of 57 gardens, to investigate provenance information, was responded to by 39 gardens: of the 136 threatened taxa identified by the first survey, 73 were of UK wild collected seed, while 64 were of unknown or garden origin, or had been wild collected in another country.
  Of the In addition, . List...

  Encouraging botanic gardens throughout the country to grow more threatened native species
  When it is clear from the survey which threatened species are in cultivation and where, PlantNetwork gardens will be encouraged to start growing more of the threatened plants on the Red List, particularly those in their local flora, keeping appropriate records of their origin, provenance and characteristics. We are aiming for as many as possible of the threatened species in the British and Irish flora to be grown in living collections in botanic and heritage gardens in the UK, bringing some of these into cultivation for the first time. In the future, we would also like to consider the possibilities of encouraging gardens to collect and grow genetically structured conservation collections across the whole of the UK.

  Linking botanic and heritage gardens with species recovery plans and biodiversity action plans
  An important part of this project will be to facilitate links between gardens growing particular species and individuals or research groups working on species recovery plans and in situ conservation for those species, so that all can work together to conserve them. We would like every botanic garden to ‘take on’ a few threatened native species and to make contact with all those working on those species in situ or ex situ. Some gardens will be able to use the skills of their staff to contribute to research on those species, for instance on germination and establishment or reproductive biology. Most will be able to provide facilities and expertise for propagating species from material collected from the wild, for bulking up populations or forming back-up collections. The Plant Diversity Challenge emphasises the importance of those in in situ and ex situ conservation working together, but this does not appear to happen as often as it could. We plan to do all we can to facilitate such collaboration by providing PlantNetwork members with sources of relevant information, opportunities and personal contacts.

  We are also seeking to set up links with those working on species action plans. Nicholas Wray (on our Board of Trustees) from University of Bristol Botanic Garden gave a talk on ‘PlantNetwork and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation’ at the UK Biodiversity Partnership conference in Cardiff on 22 June 2004. He emphasised that we are looking for opportunities for staff in botanic gardens to share their skills and facilities with those working in situ. Few of those at the conference appeared to know about Plant Diversity Challenge, and we have had a number of responses. We need to participate in more such meetings and to publicise our conservation activities, but we need funding to do so. We would like every botanic garden to be mentioned for their conservation activities in their relevant Local Biodiversity Action Plan; and all Biodiversity and Species Action Plans to report activities in botanic gardens.

• PlantNetwork and the GSPC

  PlantNetwork has identified three themes for its response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. These are summarised under our strategy.
  Read more here...

Careers, skills and salary survey

This survey was initiated by PlantNetwork as a result of the Writtle conference in 2002. Lantra (Land-based industries training organisation) has acted as the lead organisation, obtaining funding to conduct a major survey of nearly 2,000 people working in the sector throughout Great Britain. 1,500 questionnaires were sent out, and 8 Focus-group meetings took place around the country. A 145-page draft report has now been completed, and a meeting was held at the RHS in Vincent Square to examine the results. The final document was published in December 2005.
Details from the survey, as well as downloadable versions of the report are available here ...

Heritage and Botanic Garden Training Bursaries Scheme

The scheme is now funded for 4 years, and Fiona Dennis has recently been appointed as Co-ordinator. The scheme will enable a number of employees in the sector to undertake detailed training placements and exchanges (of 3, 6 or 12 months). It is expected that about 16 full-time-equivalent placements will be available every year.
A website has now been developed (http://www.hbgbs.org.uk/) that includes details of the scheme, a list of placements on offer, events for continuing professional development (CPD) and a trainee application form for placements. Under the CPD part of the scheme, some bursaries may be available to allow one or two people to attend PlantNetwork meetings.

Issues surrounding Plant Health and Diseases

PlantNetwork regards the issue of newly emerging pests and diseases as one of the most important and critical factors associated with Climate Change.

In July 2004, PlantNetwork held a workshop, for staff in botanic and heritage gardens, at the Eden Project: Foreign Bugs: Managing Pests and Diseases in a World of Increasing Imports. After the meeting, there were calls from several organisations for guidance on complying with international legislation and implementing quarantine and import procedures. The Plant Health Officers Helen Long (then at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew), Fiona Inches (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) and Katie Treseder (Eden Project) agreed to pool their collective experience and produce a set of guidelines that could be adopted, in whole or in part, by these institutions.
hese guidelines are available as a hard-copy A5 booklet at £2.50 per copy, from Judy Cheney, PlantNetwork Administrator, c/o University Computing Service, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, UK. OR as a downloadable pdf document here.

We have also established a webpage called Issues surrounding Plant Health and Diseases that will cross reference all associated materials on this website and important links we think you should be aware of. In the near future we hope to hold further meetings addressing the importance of old-fashioned hygiene and cleanliness in gardens.

PlantNetwork Special Publications

Design and Display of Plant Collections

Based on a PlantNet conference held at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Rosemoor, 22 to 24 April 2002.

By Katie Treseder (Eden Project), Fiona Inches (RBG Edinburgh), and Helen Long (RBG Kew). This booklet was developed after the Glasshouse Forum meeting held at Eden Project in July 2004, entitled Foreign Bugs: Managing Pests and Diseases in a World of Increasing Imports.