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Stumperies and Rooteries

Rebecca Cross | BSc Horticulture with Plantsmanship | October 2022 History of stumperies The stumpery became known as a garden feature in the Victorian era. Though its origins…

International Open Access Week

This week is international open access week #OAweek and celebrates research outputs that are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. The theme this year is…

Professor Rob Brooker, James Hutton Institute

Harnessing ecological knowledge for sustainable agriculture. Professor Rob Brooker is a plant ecologist working at sites across Scotland. His research focuses on the interactions between plants, which can…

Professor Robin Pakeman, James Hutton Institute

Leading large-scale research into grazing impacts on upland biodiversity. Professor Robin Pakeman’s wide-ranging ecological research spans plant functional traits, the diets of Soay sheep, long-term vegetation change and…

Wake-up call to climate change

The reality of climate change is that we will lose almost all our large wych elm trees after a long history in the British Isles spanning some 9,000…

Anna’s placement in Gothenburg

Anna is a year 3 Horticulture with Plantsmanship student here at RBGE and at Scotland’s Rural College. She spent the summer doing various work placements. Read on to…

Dr Richard Lilley, Project Seagrass

Combining research and community action to secure a future for seagrass. Marine scientist Dr Richard Lilley started his research career studying sustainable supply chain management in small-scale capture…

Stories from the Biomes: A Change in the Weather

Every day for the last thirty years, rain or shine, Senior Horticulturist Bruce Robertson has climbed up on to the roof of the Temperate Palm House to change the Campbell-Stokes recorder’s sunshine card. As the restoration on the Victorian Palm Houses begins, the recorder’s solid crystal ball is stored away for safe keeping.

The Life and Achievements of Dr Archibald Hewan

In the spirit of Black History Month, we are sharing the story, otherwise untold, of Dr Archibald Hewan, a 19th century Black doctor and naturalist. Born in Jamaica…

Dr Alejandro Gallego, Marine Scotland

Modelling marine ecosystems for conservation and sustainability. As leader of the Oceanography Group within the Marine Scotland Directorate of the Scottish Government, Dr Alejandro Gallego coordinates the observation…

Stories from the Biomes: moving the outdoor plants

From the beginning of the Biomes project the outdoor horticulture team have been hard at work preparing and moving plants to facilitate the work on the Glasshouses. New…

Ian Hedge

18 August 1928 – 7 August 2022 Ian Charleson Hedge, who passed away peacefully last month at the age of 93, was an exceptional botanist and long-time lynchpin…

Dr Ruth Mitchell, James Hutton Institute

Revealing the hidden impact of plant pests and pathogens. Plant and soil ecologist Dr Ruth Mitchell studies how human activities – such as land use, grazing pressure and…

Professor Alistair Jump, University of Stirling

Improving understanding of climate change impacts. Global change ecologist, Professor Alistair Jump explores the impacts of climate on ecological systems, our dependence on and our place within them….

Stories from the Biomes: Space for Change

Since the start of the Edinburgh Biomes project there has been an almost constant movement of plants within and between the various glasshouses, and part of this involves changing the glasshouses themselves to create the best conditions for each collection.

A small plant with a big genome

The small adder’s-tongue fern has a single leaf not much bigger than your little fingernail. Apart from this easily overlooked leaf, the only other visible part of the…

After the flood; an update from the RBGE Archives one year on.

On the 4th of July 2021, water ingress from a burst drainpipe above the reception of our Science building on Inverleith Row made its way into the RBGE…

Professor Jaboury Ghazoul, University of Edinburgh and ETH Zürich

Understanding the interplay between landscapes and people. Professor Jaboury Ghazoul is plant ecologist studying the bidirectional impacts of land-use decisions and ecological processes. Previously focused on the tropics…

Dr Kerry Waylen, James Hutton Institute

Championing joined-up approaches to socio-ecological systems. “Broadly, what I want to do,” says Dr Kerry Waylen when asked to describe her research, “is save the world!” More specifically,…

Stories from the Biomes: Fern House decant begins

So far, the iconic Temperate Palm House and the Tropical Palm House have been emptied of plants and are ready for refurbishment work to begin. The plants that…