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N E W S

Award recognises outstanding services to conservation

Andrew Jackson, who recently announced his early retirement after 12 years as director of Wakehurst, has been awarded an MBE for services to conservation in this summer’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Andrew has written a regular column for Kew magazine for the past six years. He originally joined Kew in 1983 as a student on the Kew Diploma. During the course he worked on conservation projects in Africa and at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, where he saw first hand the importance of wild plants to the quality of human life. It was this experience that led him to decide to pursue conservation as a career. After completing his Master’s degree, Andrew returned to Kew to help conserve some of the most endangered species on the planet, including the café marron tree (Ramosmania rodriguesii).

In 1989, Andrew became Wakehurst’s conservation and woodlands manager, working to safeguard British wild plants and wildlife, including the rare Plymouth pear and native dormice. He established Europe’s first nature reserve dedicated entirely to the conservation of ferns, mosses, lichens and liverworts in 2002, and was appointed the first director of Wakehurst in 2003. He was also responsible for the Millennium Seed Bank from 2006 to 2008.

‘The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and all of its partners around the world have given me the opportunity to roll up my sleeves, get my fingernails dirty and do something personally to give hope for the future to some of the world’s rarest plants,’ says Andrew. ‘I will now give my time as a volunteer to help Kew conserve and use plants to enhance the quality of our lives.’

Richard Deverell, director of Kew, says, ‘I am thrilled to hear that Andy’s incredible 35-year conservation career – both in the UK and internationally – has been recognised by this much-deserved MBE. I have never met a more dedicated, hard-working or loyal public servant. Closer to home, Andy has left an incredible legacy at Wakehurst, turning it into a horticultural gem, with one of the most important botanical collections in Europe. His expertise in habitat conservation has ensured that the wild areas of Wakehurst have flourished, and he has ensured future generations have the chance to visit a place of beauty and be inspired by the power of nature and the power of plants.’

—You can read Andrew’s final Wakehurst View column on p58 and discover more about Wakehurst’s conservation plans on p40.

Learn from the experts

Check out the new autumn and winter courses brochure at kew.org/learn or pick up a copy at Kew today

Kew offers a wide range of courses and workshops, so why not learn a new skill this autumn? Whether you’re interested in plants and photography, would like to watch kingfishers in their natural habitat, or want to try out botanical illustration, Kew’s adult education programme can help. This autumn and winter you can choose from an iPad art workshop, wine tasting in time for Christmas, gardening for beginners and two orchid-growing courses. You can even buy gift vouchers as Christmas presents. Take a look at the What’s On section (p66) or download the brochure at kew.org/learn.

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Kew

Andrew Jackson is delighted to receive an MBE in recognition of his conservation work