Treborth Botanic Garden

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United Kingdom - Gwynedd, Wales - Bangor

Institution Code: TREB

BGCI Member: Yes

About the Treborth Botanic Garden

The site was originally developed as a pleasure garden by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company in the 1840s. The garden was laid out to the design of Sir Joseph Paxton of Crystal Palace fame. It was to be part of Britannia Park, a Victorian extravaganza with Grand Hotel, conservatories and station on the main railway line. But due to funding problems, the whole scheme was abandoned and the site reverted to pasture and woodland.

In the 1960s, the then University College of North Wales bought the patch of woodland by the strait, together with the grassland above it, to develop a collection of plants for the Department of Botany. Parts of the old unimproved pasture now have a variety of management regimes to display the effects of these treatments on the native flora, while other parts have been developed to grow a wide range of wild and cultivated plants from all over the world that flourish in our mild climate with a relatively high rainfall and shelter from Atlantic gales. Several glasshouses give protection to less hardy species and a laboratory allows students and staff to examine plants on-site.

A feature of the garden is the diversity of habitats and soil types, supporting many native plants and animals. We encourage these by conserving a the range of grassland and woodland habitats. Part of the woodland is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). We also grow a collection of native plants from the mountain regions of Snowdonia and from coastal habitats in Wales.

We plan to realise the potential of the Garden to provide enjoyment and information to the general public on how plants have evolved and how we interact with them. We envisage a visitor centre with catering and retail facilities, a new range of plant houses and a BioCentre supporting local businesses exploiting the findings of biological research.

Main Address:
Treborth Botanic Garden
Bangor University
Bangor
Gwynedd, Wales LL57 2RQ United Kingdom

Telephone: 01248 353398
Fax:
URL: http://www.treborthbotanicgarden.org/
Primary Email: n.j.chivers@bangor.ac.uk

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Dr Shaun Russell
    Curator's Name: Natalie Chivers
    Plant Records Officer's Name:
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 3
    Educational Staff Number:
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 1

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: State: No
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Municipal: No
    Status: Satellite: No
    Status: Trust: No
  • Date founded: 1963
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
  • Total Area: 15 Hectares
    Latitude: 53.216499
    Longitude: -4.1724
    Annual Rainfall: 810 mm
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres
    Total area of glasshouses: 450 Metres
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name: Treborth Botanic Garden - Gardd Fotaneg Treborth
  • Local Address: Bangor University LL57 2RQ
  • Locality: City: Treborth, Bangor
  • Locality: State: Gwynedd

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 3400
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 1
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: Yes
    Published Plant Catalogue: No
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: No
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: No
    Disabled access: Yes

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 3154
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 1893
  • Special Collections:Special collections include a Chinese Garden, a Carnivorous plant collection and an Orchid Glasshouse. Other collections include Liliaceae, Sorbus, Lloydia and plant collections from South Africa and Great Britain.
  • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
    Invasive Species Policy: No
    ABS Policy: No
    Plant Collection Policy: No

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Medicinal Plant Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: No
    Reintroduction Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Biotechnology: No
    Plant Breeding: No
    Conservation - Biology: No
    Conservation - Genetics: No
    Data Management Systems and Information Technology: No
    Ecology: No
    Ecosystem Conservation: No
    Education: Yes
    Ethnobotany: No
    Exploration: No
    Floristics: No
    Horticulture: No
    Invasive Species Biology and Control: No
    Molecular Genetics: No
    Pollination Biology: No
    Restoration Ecology: No
    Seed/Spore Biology: No
    Systematics and Taxonomy: No
    Sustainability: Yes
    Pharmacology: No
    Agriculture: No
    Land Restoration: No
    Urban Environments: No

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: No
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: No
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: No
    Special Exhibitions: No
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for University/College Students: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: No