About the Congress

The prestigious University of Oxford Botanic Garden was host to BGCI’s 6th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens: Nature of Success: Success for Nature, with one day spent at the magnificent Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a World Heritage Site.

The congress took place from Sunday 10th – Thursday 14th September 2006.

Simultaneous translation into / from Spanish was available during the congress for keynote speeches, and selected workshops and papers. You can view all Spanish outputs here.

Context

Themes

Organisers

Context: Sustainable Development, Plant Conservation and the Millennium Development Goals

At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, world leaders affirmed the fundamental role of education in sustainable development. The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity in the same year, also identified education as an essential prerequisite to achieving every one of its targets. Such high level endorsements were instrumental in paving the way for the United Nations to declare 2005-2014 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

The work of this UN Decade is critical for the attainment of the eight Millennium Development Goals (a United Nations summary of the goals agreed upon at international conferences and world summits during the 1990s). Conservation and development are interlinked and it is widely recognised, for example, that tackling poverty is imperative for long term conservation success. Indeed recommendations from the 2nd World Botanic Gardens Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 2004 emphasized the multi-faceted task of education and highlighted the key role of botanic gardens in linking plants, people and culture.

This was the conceptual framework for the 6th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens, which brought together educators involved in plant-based education to share experiences and discuss educational practices, policies and research. By providing a forum to explore future collaborative projects in education for sustainable development, the Congress examined the already effective contribution of botanic garden education programmes to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

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Congress Themes

Achieving Sustainability: Ideas and Solutions

The United Nations has declared 2005-2014 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. This presents botanic gardens and related institutions with an opportunity to highlight the vital role they are playing in education to help society find solutions to the challenges of sustainable development. During the congress we will examine the innovative ways in which botanic gardens can and are contributing to the decade through their arts and science based education programmes.

Reflection on Practice

In considering how we educate the public for a sustainable future, it is important to examine our practice. Are there innovative and more efficient ways of running our education programmes? Can theory, policy and practice be integrated in a useful and productive way? These questions will be explored through presentations that will demonstrate how reflection and evaluation are integral to the success of our education programmes.

Public Awareness of Plants

Target 14 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) is concerned with raising public awareness about the importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation. Presentations will highlight the inspirational work of botanic gardens in this field and will explore future ways of working together to create shared public messages and approaches to promoting sustainability.

Education for All: Working with Challenging Audiences

How do we engage people or audiences who have little interest in plants or in visiting a botanic garden? The sustainable development agenda requires the involvement of everyone and so this is a challenge we cannot ignore. Through sharing case studies, we will encourage delegates to reach out to new groups and explore ways in which they can connect these audiences to their environment.

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Organisers

BGCI

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is the largest international network of botanic gardens and related institutions working collectively for plant conservation and environmental education. With over 500 members in almost 120 countries, BGCI provides technical and policy guidance as well as regular up-to-date information in the form of newsletters, magazines, conferences and courses.
BGCI is committed to supporting botanic gardens to realize their potential in education for sustainable development. BGCI works with its members to develop education programmes in many countries. For example, we have run several teacher training courses in Indonesia, provided grants and training for interpretative exhibitions in China, set up model school gardens in Brazil and are in the process of developing children’s eco-clubs in Russia.

University of Oxford Botanic Garden, UK

The University of Oxford Botanic Garden was founded in 1621, making it the oldest botanic garden in Britain. Throughout its three hundred and eighty year history the Garden has continually evolved and developed to the point that today it is recognised as a classic yet contemporary botanic garden at the heart of the University and City of Oxford.
In 1963 the Garden acquired a satellite collection six miles south of Oxford; the University of Oxford Harcourt Arboretum. The mission of the Arboretum is the same as that of the Garden, ie. “to promote learning and glorify nature”. Today people of all ages and backgrounds use the Garden and Arboretum.

Undergraduates studying biological sciences and related subjects at the University of Oxford visit both sites to learn about many aspects of plant biology including plant conservation. The Garden and Arboretum provide an opportunity for thousands of children and adults to learn about plants through our innovative education programme.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a unique organisation on the international stage, awarded World Heritage Site status in July 2003. Often described as greater than the sum of its parts, Kew’s pioneering scientific programmes for example, derive enormous benefit from its plant-based collections (preserved, living, art, artefact and documentation) much of which date back over 200 years.

In terms of the general public, Kew is at once a major visitor attraction and a venerable institution with a significant part to play in formal and lifelong learning. On average, over a million visitors come to Kew each year.

Kew's mission is: To enable better management of the Earth's environment by increasing knowledge and understanding of the plant and fungal kingdoms - The basis of life on Earth.

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