🌳 Botanic Park secures funding for conservation survey work

The Botanic Park has secured funding from the UK's Darwin Plus local grant scheme for the overseas territories to install around one hundred permanent conservation survey plots. The initiative aims to document the biodiversity of the park's natural woodland for future generations. The installation of these permanent markers will ensure that the work of recording important and endangered species can be easily replicated in the future. 🌿

The idea for this project was conceived by Nick Johnson, the park’s former horticultural manager, during the COVID-19 closure in 2020-21. An extensive survey of the native forest was carried out with the help of local volunteers and Stuart Mailer, a veteran nature guide and former Environmental Programmes Manager at the National Trust. The grant will also allow for the full databasing of this survey with the assistance of the UKOT Conservation Team at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 📘

John Lawrus, General Manager at the park, announced that the first phase of installing the survey beacons will be completed next week. This marks the first time the Botanic Park has received a Darwin Plus grant as a Lead Partner. Both Johnson and Mailer will share some of the survey results at a Walk-and-Learn event on December 10, introducing the project and the role of Tropical Important Plant Areas in achieving national plant conservation goals. 🌺