Ongoing Development of the Collection

 

By their very nature all living collections are in a constant state of change - with new plant arrivals replacing inevitable losses due to disease and old age. As such it is vital for the long-term survival of the collection to plan ahead. This is particularly true at Westonbirt, where many of the trees we plant will not mature for fifty years or more.

How we know what to collect

With thousands of species to choose from, the first question we have to consider is what species do we want to have in the collection and why.

At Westonbirt we have an Accession Statement to ensure the Collection is developed in such a way as to ensure it delivers our three overall objectives; Conservation, Recreation and Education. 

• Selection of plants for conservation is mainly focused on rare and endangered plants from around the temperate zones of the world 
• Selection of aesthetically pleasing trees and specimens that ensure continuation of our Grade One Landscape help create a beautiful landscape visitors can enjoy
• Selection of species with particular stories / relationships support our extensive learning programme which seeks to provide firsthand connections with trees, which we hope will lead to greater appreciation and stewardship of trees

Good selection of the right plant often delivers all of these objectives. These lists also allow us to focus our collecting trips on particular areas or plants that we do not currently grow within the collection. 

Collecting new specimens

Development of the Collection requires plant collecting and Westonbirt in conjunction with Bedegbury, our sister collection in Kent, is now beginning to instigate regular collecting trips.  To date we have been out to Serbia and North America, and have a trip planned to Japan in 2008.  Given the cost of such trips, partnership working is an important aspect of the work as it helps reduce duplication of effort.  To date we have worked with both the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Kew.  Some of the seed collected has been stored in the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst. 

Our Aquisition Policy explores how we collect new material for the collection and is our main supporting document with regard to the Convention on Bio-diversity.  The main element is to ensure that any material collected is done with the relevant written permissions in place.

Climate Change

Increasingly, we are looking at how we can develop our Collection so that it can cope with climate change. This involve deciding which of our current plants may be vulnerable and which new plants we should grow to replace these. This is particularly important in the context of our landscape heritage as the original creators of Westonbirt used a very specific range of plants to create what is now a Grade One Listed Landscape and thus loss of these plants has the potential to destroy the landscape. Furthermore, the changing climate is going to threaten many more plants in their native habitats and we need to consider how our plantings can help to conserve these genetic resources for future generations to enjoy.