• BGCI Home
• Welcome to Education
  • Introduction to Education
• News
• GSPC and Education
• Roots
  • Latest Issue
  • Roots Archive
  • Roots Back Issue PDFs
  • Resources from Roots
  • Subscribe to Roots
• Education E-Update
• Case Studies
  • Formal Education
  • Public Education
  • Interpretation
  • Evaluation
  • Community Engagement
  • Working with Volunteers
  • Teacher Training
  • Resource Development
  • Administration
  • Funding
• Key Reading
  • ESD Guidelines
  • EE Guidelines
  • Interpretation Guidelines
  • Background Reading
  • BGCI Publications List
• Resources
  • Worth a Look - the Noticeboard
  • Website Links
  • How-to Guides
  • Resource Reviews
  • Communicating Climate Change
• Congresses
  • Proceedings
  • The Nature of Success: Success for Nature

Roots: Latest Issues

Making Waves for Water Conservation

The latest issue of Roots, based on the theme of Water Conservation, was built around reader suggestions and is being sent to BGCI members right now.

• Read more

• Get your own copy
  

Roots 3:1 – Access for all: problems and solutions - Available for Download

Most of us would subscribe to the view that botanic gardens ought to be accessible, and by that we generally mean open to the public. But such a simple and unchallengeable statement raises more questions than it seems to answer. For example, what exactly do we mean by access? Who gains access, to what and how? These are some of the issues raised in this edition of Roots.

Articles examine; targeting individuals and communities who felt excluded from the garden, from Ian Edwards at RBG Edinburgh, transforming communities with gardens and green spaces at the Chicago Botanic Garden, changing attitudes in Mexico City by UNAM’s work on indigenous plants and increasing accessibility through multi-lingual signs. Cat Heale challenges us to look past ‘audiences’ in a generic way and think about providing access for individuals.

• The resources from this issue compliment the access theme, and can also be downloaded here.

Roots 4:1 - Linneaus: Still relevant 300 years on?

Print Edition - Distributed to BGCI Members

300 years ago Linnaeus, regarded as the father of taxonomy and creator of the classification system, had little difficulty in engaging young people’s interest in taxonomy. Students flocked from far and wide to study with him and contemporary accounts suggest that his natural history excursions were notorious events! Now however, many of our botanic garden colleagues express concern over the apparently inexorable decline in the popularity of taxonomy. This issue of Roots explores the methods and solutions used by educators to bring taxonomy and classification to life.

We are fortunate to include articles from educators and taxonomic tutors around the world, including Gail Bromley, International Consultant for Biodiversity Education and Education Development Manager, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, Magnus Lidén, Superintendent, and Mariette Manktelow, Education Officer of Uppsala University Botanical Garden, Sweden, Gregory Kenicer, Head of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland and Nick Meijdam, Education Officer at the Utrecht University Botanic Garden.

Internationally there does appear to be consensus that taxonomy per se is important for the conservation and sustainable use of plant diversity. We know that botanic gardens play a significant role in training the next generation of taxonomists. The question is what role should they play in educating school children and the general public about taxonomy? If botanic gardens, custodians to an unrivalled diversity of plants, do not see a role for themselves in this process, then who will?

Roots Education Review

Roots is a unique journal dedicated to environmental education for site-based practitioners. With fascinating articles from authors worldwide, and packed with useful resources, it's full of ideas, techniques and inspiration for your own education work. Find out more about Roots here.

Read more...