Leicestershire & Rutland Gardens Trust: GeneBank55: Saving the wildflower heritage of Leicestershire & Rutland - Dr Richard Gornall

A new project at Leicester University hopes to save rare and threatened local wildflowers from across Leicestershire and Rutland from extinction. With support from the Friends of the Garden, the Botanic Garden has set up Genebank55, which focuses on plants throughout Leicestershire and Rutland. The project aims to store seeds from the rarest species of local wildflower from the surviving populations in a deep freeze, helping to conserve them for future repopulation.

Botanist Dr Richard Gornall, recently retired Director of the Harold Martin Botanic Garden, will address the importance of biodiversity and the need for its effective conservation. The causes of its loss in our local area of Leicestershire and Rutland (16% of vascular plant species to date) will be reviewed and appropriate conservation strategies discussed, including the setting up of a local genebank in which to preserve seed material. The procedures and processes involved in genebank work will be described, including targeting, finding, collecting and preparation for freezing. Finally, prospects for the future will be outlined.

Cost: £3, pay on the door. For more information see: https://www.lrgt.org/ or ring the Events Secretary on 0116-270-5711