Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens exists to showcase many plants of the world to the public, but more importantly, to work for the conservation and restoration of plants around the world. Kew also aims to educate the public about the important relationship between plants and our environment. Princess Augusta founded the gardens, and it was initially used by generations of royalty. William and Mary enlarged the gardens, and evidence of this can still be seen today as his symbol of the orange is located throughout the gardens. A wide variety of plants accumulated overtime as it was continuously expanded by royals such as George III.
The gardens were first used for royal events and leisure, but it opened to the public in 1840. The purposes of the Royal Botanical gardens have changed over time, and now the organization is very focused on plant research, conservation, and restoration. The importance of preserving our environment can not be stressed enough, and Kew Gardens is a leader in this most necessary goal. Today Kew is promoting small growing and preserving global diversity by ensuring the survival of the world’s rarest plants through GIS and micropropagation. The current goals for biodiversity and its effect on conservation were not fully established centuries ago, but the same purpose of educating the public still exists from the 19th century.
Plants were initially gathered by explorers under the orders of the Queen and/or King. The explorers were sent on missions to gather fine goods from distance lands, and they were also told to bring back native species to enlarge the collection of exotic plants. It may have originally been due to a fascination of royalty with plants and collections, but it has grown to show the diversity of plants all around the world. Kew Gardens now has a staff of over 700, along with many partners around the world, who collect, research, and preserve the plants. The Millennium Seed Bank was created to collect the rarest plant species around the world and will soon hold 10% of the world’s wild species*. This is imperative because many plant species are being destroyed, and researchers are saving the plants by saving the seeds.
The Palm House was completed in 1848, and it holds a variety of palm species from the Americas, Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Pacific. It is extremely significant because the world relies heavily on palms, and the Palm House creates a habitat suitable for many threatened species. The center of the building was made to accommodate the tallest palms, and therefore, it has a collection of species from various places. There were many signs located in the soil and on the walls which described the human and environmental dependence on certain species. For example, I found it very interesting that the Madagascar periwinkle was used to fight cancer. Furthermore, the Victorian style architecture of glass and iron was absolutely beautiful and functional at the same time.
The Temperate House is an even larger glass house which contains plant species from the temperate regions of the world. It is also partitioned into geographical areas, which do not have extreme variation in temperature. This allows for increased diversity, and this house holds some of the rarest species in the world. Many endangered plants are being grown and will later be reintroduced to their native lands.
To conclude my journey through Kew, I visited the Princess of Wales Conservatory. It was created in honor of Princess Augusta, the founder, and opened by Princess Diana. The outside architecture is composed of angled glass roofs, and the building is situated into the ground. Upon researching the conservatory, I found this was an intended detail of the design in order to maximize solar energy. The building was divided into ten different climatic zones, but they flowed together very nicely. There was also a temporary exhibit in the lower level of the building which allowed you to learn about plants and their smells. It was a beautiful, unique building that allowed me to get a close look at plants from all around the world, but it also fit into the general architectural theme of Kew Gardens.
I found this trip to be helpful and fun in many ways. I love learning about different species and the ecological significance. Plants are the basis for all life, and more focus needs to be put upon them today. Most of the funding for Kew comes in the form of admissions, grants, gifts, and donations. People tend limit their thoughts and funds to scientific research on humans and animals, but plants research should be equally encouraged. They provide the foundation for all life and supply endless benefits such as food and medicine.

* http://www.kew.org/msbp/index.htm