The Biology Department took this year’s Lower Sixth students on the annual trip to the wild botanical gardens at Wakehurst in Sussex on Monday. Wakehurst is a living laboratory and a site of globally-significant plant science.
Lower Sixth biologist Mark reports back, “A recent visit to Kew Gardens at Wakehurst, housing the Millennium Seed Bank, provided a unique opportunity to explore plant diversity and conservation efforts.
“The gardens showcased a large range of flora, from endangered trees to delicate wildflowers, every part of the reserve was carefully cared for.
“We applied sampling methods in a meadow which has never been farmed on, but is maintained, in order to gather data on the variety of plant species living in the ecosystem.” The students investigated how abiotic (non-living) factors affect the distribution and abundance of plant species growing. Mark continues, “This first-hand experience provided insights into local biodiversity and its conservation.
“The Seed Bank tour further emphasised the importance of global plant preservation, highlighting the complexity and importance of protecting species and biodiversity.”
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Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank is the largest wild plant seed bank in the world, with an underground collection of over 2.4 billion seeds, which are being conserved for the future. They are stored in flood, bomb and radiation-proof vaults. Disappointingly, the number of seeds has not increased in the year since the last Lower Sixth trip from Trinity School in Croydon to Wakehurst but with scientists naming an average of 2,500 new species of plants and 2,500 new species of fungi every year, there are still plenty to add. It is also estimated there are as many as 100,000 plants yet to be formally identified.
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