THE BOTANIC GARDEN ISS 37 – DECEMBER 2013
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5th Global Botanic Gardens Congress / 6th Biennial Botanic Gardens Australia & New Zealand Congress, 20-25th October Dunedin, New Zealand A global message from an old bird Megan J Hirst,The Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Contact Megan.Hirst@rbg.vic.gov.au Like the messenger bird, I flew into Dunedin, New Zealand over snow-capped mountains, to present my story, share my news and collect much more in return. And, like the mythical Maori Albatross, the international messenger bird collecting knowledge from across our vast oceans to bring home, I too carry messages. Dunedin was the temporary resting place for over 300 messenger birds from around the globe, coming together for the 5th Global Botanic Garden Congress. And the resounding message throughout the week long conference was: ‘Prepare for Change’. While at no time in history has there been as many botanic gardens on earth, the geographic range of many plants is contracting, shifting or halting completely. Conversely, there are opportunistic plants increasing in range size to the detriment of others. The trend we can feel positive about here is the increase in the total land area reserved as botanic gardens. These public spaces hold many ex situ and living collections, representing current flora, and those sadly extinct in the wild. There are many messages from the congress, but here is this old bird’s top five: 1. Prepare to change within. Dr David Rae, the Director of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, spoke of the worrying decline in horticultural staff numbers, resulting
in a loss of standards which can impact negatively not only on an institute’s plant collections, but on other programs such as research and education. He spoke of horticulture as the necessary core of a botanic institution, and the place to build upon, not peel away. Recruiting and retaining high quality horticulturists requires a shift in perception and some inward reflection by each institution to understand their current workplace culture and practices. Involving horticulturists across an institution’s various programs will increase knowledge transfer, the level of staff engagement and reinstate the gardener as an integral and core member of staff. 2. Prepare for species change. Ex situ collections are not the total solution for safe- guarding species; however they are highly valuable, capturing plant diversity and a slice of genetic history. Botanic gardens can play an important role in facilitating the reintroduction and/or revegetation of degraded areas with exsitu plant material, using their plant knowledge and laboratory techniques to achieve this. Dr Colin Chubbe, from The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, spoke of the success using micro-propagation in the rescue and conservation of a rediscovered endemic fern Anogramma ascenionis on Ascension Island. Dr Jenny Guerin from the
Botanic Gardens of Adelaide explained how seed collections from their state’s seed bank were used in experimental seed burial work to gain an understanding of the germination behaviour of an endangered endemic herb. 3. Prepare and capture the genetic diversity. DNA sampling and sequencing of genes from ex-situ plant collections within a botanic garden, can provide valuable information to understand the patterns of genetic diversity both within a collection, and compared to their wild relatives. Dr Patrick Griffith of Montgomery Botanical Centre in the United States stated in his presentation on ex-situ collections that ‘survival requires diversity’, and to achieve this such collections must capture genetic diversity through extensive sampling methods, ensuring as many populations are represented within a collection as possible. 4. Be prepared and they will come. Conducting surveys and focus groups can increase our understanding of why people like to visit us and why not. To increase tourism, and gain a greater understanding of different cultural needs, keeping regular visitors engaged and capturing a sought after demographic can happen through well planned and unbiased externally operated social research.