A series of events to celebrate Fasciation of Plants Day 2022 organised by The Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and The Botanical Society of Scotland Saturday 14th May - Royal Botanic Garden Tour of Rhododendron Collection with Dr. Richard Milne Royal Botanic Garden Tour of Rhododendron Collection with Dr. Richard Milne Event Location: Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Event time: 10.00-11.30 Event description: Join us on a Rhododendron tour with Dr. Richard Milne, in connection with Fascination of Plants Day, exploring a selection of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's vast and unique outdoor Rhododendron collection. Registration: Free, register online Wednesday 18th May - Fascinating plants in person Fascinating plants in person Event Location: Ground floor of The Gateway, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Event time: 11.00-15.00 Event description: Learn how plants respond to light and about the ancient fossil forests that used to cover Edinburgh with scientists from The Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Registration: Free, no needed to register Wednesday 18th May - Secret World of Rhododendrons talk with Dr Richard Milne Secret World of Rhododendrons talk with Dr Richard Milne Event Location: Virtual talk on Zoom Event time: 18.00-19.30 Event description: Tune in on Fascination of Plants Day, 18 May for a streaming of The Secret World of Rhododendrons by Dr. Richard Milne. Registration: Free, register online Thursday 19th May - Can plants be friends? with Professor Jonathan Silvertown Can plants be friends? with Professor Jonathan Silvertown Event Location: Virtual talk on Zoom Event time: 18.00-19.00 Event description: Join the Botanical Society of Scotland online lecture series to hear Professor Jonathan Silvertown discuss if plants can be friends. Members of the Botanical Society may have noticed that our subject, which let’s face it in recent times has been a minority interest, has suddenly become popular with books appearing such as The Hidden Life of Trees by forester Peter Wholleben and Finding the Mother Tree by ecologist Susan Simard. These books, and a number of others, tell us that trees are friendly creatures who help each other, have a language of their own and are intelligent. Reactions to these claims among botanists might vary from “Finally you’ve noticed!” to “Pull the other one!” In this talk I will explore how far the science supports the claims being made for trees and ask whether we can expect all the rest of the plant kingdom to become jealous of the attention being given to their woody relatives. Registration: Free, register online Friday 20th May - Pushed up the Mountain screening & In conversation Pushed up the Mountain screening & In conversation Event Location: In person: National Galleries of Scotland, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Also available to stream online. Event time: 14.00-16.00 Event description: A feature-length documentary that tells the story of nature conservationists in China and the UK who are working to protect rhododendrons in the wild and in ex-situ collections. Over the five years it took Julia Haslett make the film, she travelled to Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China, and Argyll and Edinburgh in Scotland. Registration: Free, Register for the in person event or online event More information 9th April - 5th June - Riddle Obsession Threat Exhibition Riddle Obsession Threat Exhibition Event Location: Exhibition Event time: 10:30 – 17:30 Event description: Coinciding with the peak flowering period of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s rhododendrons, Rhododendrons: Riddle, Obsession, Threat reveals the organisations’ significant history of collecting, researching and cultivating this unique plant. Work by contemporary artists Simon Starling, Yan Wang Preston and Alison Turnbull is presented alongside historical botanical illustration, photography and objects from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Archive. The exhibition also features newly commissioned work, Rhododatum: a collaboration between artists Stefanie Posavec and Ray Interactive, with RBGE Biodiversity Conservation Network Manager, Alan Elliott. Registration: Free, no need to register More information This article was published on 2024-06-17
