BBC Radio 4 to explore the history and work of Kew Gardens

This summer BBC Radio 4 is to broadcast a major new series that will explore our changing relationship with plants, from Carl Linnaeus and the birth of modern botany right through to the modern day. Created in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and presented by Kew’s director of science, Professor Kathy Willis, Plants: From Roots To Riches will feature unprecedented access to the rich heritage and ongoing work of scientists at one of the world’s oldest botanical institutions. The 25-part series will begin by delving into Kew’s archive and its world-class collections – including the herbarium of over seven million preserved plant specimens – to tell the story of how modern botany was born around the time of Kew’s establishment in 1759. It will go on to examine how subsequent changes in scientific, economic and social preoccupations have influenced our attitudes to plants – from tools to exploit for food, fuel and industry, to objects of beauty, to being an essential global resource that must be conserved. Professor Kathy Willis will talk to a range of experts including researchers working at the cutting edge of plant science today and historians who argue that Linnaeus’s system of plant classification established the roots of botany as we know it and revolutionised the economics and movement of plant species and their riches across the globe, and how they are referred to. The series will mix interviews recorded on location at Kew Gardens with narration and historical analysis. Professor Kathy Willis, director of science, RBG Kew, said: @It is an absolute privilege to be able to take this journey of discovery and tell the story of people and plants over the past 250 years. "Britain’s botanical heritage is incredibly rich in compelling, memorable tales of adventure and discovery, politics and conflict, breathtaking beauty and, ultimately, our dependency on plants. "I hope this series will encourage listeners to look at plants in a new light. Our future depends on us adapting in order to live in better balance with the natural world, and plants have some of the answers to help us do that and address global challenges that we are faced with on a daily basis." The series will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 21 July. A book with the same title will accompany the series. Website: http://www.kew.org

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