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| Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens | |
|---|---|
| Name | Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens |
| Type | Charity |
| Location | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Area served | International |
| Mission | Support botanical science, conservation, horticulture and public engagement |
Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens is a membership-based charity associated with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew that supports botanical research, conservation, horticulture and public engagement through funding, volunteering and advocacy. Founded to connect patrons, scientists, horticulturalists and philanthropists, the organisation works alongside museums, universities, governmental bodies and international conservation programmes to advance plant science and safeguard plant diversity. It collaborates with botanical institutions, heritage sites and environmental initiatives across continents while offering educational events, publications and access benefits to members.
The organisation emerged during a period when institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Natural History Museum, London, the Linnean Society of London and the Royal Society were expanding public outreach and scientific networks. Early patrons included figures associated with the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum who sought to support collections like those of Joseph Banks and endeavors related to the H.M.S. Endeavour voyages. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries it intersected with developments at the Royal Horticultural Society, the Kew Herbarium, the Royal Geographical Society and academic departments at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh. During periods coinciding with the Great Exhibition and the aftermath of the Second World War, Friends groups similarly engaged with heritage conservation work akin to projects at English Heritage and the National Trust. In recent decades the organisation has woven ties with international initiatives such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and programmes connected to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The charity operates with a board of trustees drawn from sectors including botanical research at institutions like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew herbarium, academic governance from the University of Reading and conservation leadership from groups such as Fauna & Flora International. Governance aligns with charity law frameworks used by organisations including Charity Commission for England and Wales and reporting standards adopted by cultural institutions like the British Library and the Science Museum Group. Committees include curatorial advisory panels with liaisons to the Kew Guild, liaison officers to municipal bodies like the Greater London Authority and partnerships coordinators working with the European Commission and bilateral agencies. Executive roles often mirror structures found at the Wellcome Trust, the National Trust, the Rothschild Foundation and university presses.
Programming spans lecture series that feature speakers from the Royal Society, the Zoological Society of London, the Smithsonian Institution and the New York Botanical Garden, alongside exhibitions comparable to those at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum, London. Educational initiatives are co-developed with higher education partners such as the London School of Economics, the Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, while citizen science projects connect with platforms like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Conservation grants support fieldwork reminiscent of projects run by World Wide Fund for Nature, BirdLife International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and horticultural demonstrations relate to collections maintained by the Chelsea Physic Garden and the Desert Botanical Garden. Public programs have been staged in collaboration with cultural festivals like the Chelsea Flower Show and institutions such as the Barbican Centre.
Membership tiers reflect models used by organisations such as the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the Tate Modern and the British Museum, offering benefits including behind-the-scenes access to collections analogous to those at the Ashmolean Museum and the Hunterian Museum. Volunteers work in roles comparable to volunteer rangers at the National Trust and citizen curators linked to the Smithsonian Institution, contributing to herbarium digitisation projects with partners such as the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland and to community outreach with groups like Groundwork UK. Training pathways reference methods used by the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and the Institute of Conservation.
The organisation secures revenue via membership subscriptions, philanthropic gifts from trusts such as the Wellcome Trust and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, legacy donations like those managed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and corporate sponsorships from firms engaging with biodiversity initiatives similar to those funded by Rothschild & Co and the Leverhulme Trust. Project grants have paralleled funding streams from the European Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. Fundraising campaigns adopt strategies used by the Charity Aid Foundation and major donor programmes linked to the Royal Foundation.
Strategic partnerships extend to botanical gardens including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Misbourne Botanic Garden, the Botanical Garden of São Paulo and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, as well as research networks like the International Association for Plant Taxonomy and the Global Plants Initiative. Advocacy work aligns with campaigns run by the Plantlife International, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and policy dialogues within forums such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Collaborative projects have engaged governmental departments like the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and international agencies including the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Major contributions include funding for digitisation efforts at the Kew Herbarium, support for expeditions associated with historical collectors like Joseph Hooker and contemporary fieldwork in biodiversity hotspots documented by researchers from Harvard University, Yale University and University of California, Berkeley. The organisation has backed restoration projects comparable to those undertaken at Stowe House and botanical conservation modeled on initiatives by the Eden Project and the Royal Horticultural Society. It has enabled fellowships and scholarships in partnership with institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Natural History Museum, London and the Royal Society and facilitated exhibitions that toured venues including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum. Internationally significant collaborations have included programmes with the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre, research exchanges with the Arnold Arboretum and seed-bank initiatives akin to those led by the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Category:Charities based in London Category:Botanical organisations Category:Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew