Networking for the conservation of plant diversity

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The SNS co-funded network “Towards a targeted meta-collection of Nordic gardens” has met in Bergen, Norway. This was an inspiring event with lots of opportunities to follow up themes, troubleshoot challenges, and build collaborations while many of the partners were together in person.

This is their story, told by Michael Pirie!

 

A group of people in raincloths, with their backs to the camera, standing in mountains with green grass under a cloudy sky.

Tour group at Ulriken with Bjørn Moe. Photo: Michael Pirie

A major milestone in our SNS funded project was marked by the biennial meeting of the Nordic Arboretum Committee, organised by the University Museum of Bergen at the University Gardens’ Arboretum and Bergen Botanic Garden at Milde, hosted at Fana folkehøgskole and funded by SNS with further support from Bergen Universitetsfond and Stiftelsen Det norske arboret.

We kicked off a two day scientific programme on Monday 10th of August with a welcome from Head of the University Gardens at the University of Bergen (UiB), Berit Gehrke, and Director of Stiftelsen Det norske arboret Helene Ødven followed by introductions and updates from the visiting partner institutions: Anders Ræbild (Hørsholm Arboretum, University of Copenhagen); Lars Birck (Horticultural Gardens, University of Copenhagen); Niels Arne Melballe (Geografisk Have); Tuomas Kauppila (Oulu University Botanical Garden); Tomas Zicha (The Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Uppsala University); Juha Ujula (Botanic Garden of University of Turku), Johnny Schimmel (Arboretum Norr); Rūta Katrīna Berga & Madara Lazdane (University of Latvia Botanical Garden, Rhododendron Breeding and Testing Nursery “Babīte”); Jaakko Saarinen (Arboretum Mustila); Ingunn W. Jolma (Rogaland Arboret); Inkeri Salo (City of Helsinki, unit of landscape designing including Niskala arboretum); and Nils Lidbaum (Ekolsunds slotts arboretum).

A group of people gathered in the stairs outside of a white wooden house.

Participants on Tuesday 11th of August outside Fana folkehøgskule. Photo: Terhi Pousi

In the afternoon, a themed session on volunteers and friends’ associations with contributions from Fredrik Sørvig (Arboretetsvenner; of which several members also attended), Niels Melballe, and Ingunn Jolma was followed by a tour in the Arboretum with Michael Pirie (curator), Stefan Reiman (gardener – Rosarium) and Terhi Pousi (gardener – Rhododendron), a field report on collecting in Bulgaria by Jaakko Saarinen, and the NAC business meeting, making plans for consolidating and extending our network, including future projects and meetings.

Tuesday 11th was dedicated to metacollections, first on progress and tools with talks from Alan Elliott (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – RBGE, via Teams linkup) on the World Flora Online as taxonomic backbone; from Patricia Malcolm (Botanic Gardens Conservation International) on the PlantSearch and GardenSearch databases, and on managing and sharing data across botanic gardens (recorded); and Michael Pirie on progress in the Nordic arboreta metacollection project. Then on applications and future plans: Hannah Wilson (RBGE) on the International Conifer Conservation Programme; Sam Brockington (University of Cambridge Botanic Garden, via Teams); and Tor Myking (NIBIO) on conserving genetic diversity and the role of arboretums. In the afternoon, two discussion sessions, the first on assisted migration (chaired by Anders Ræbild); the second on databases and tools, with Nils Lidbaum presenting “A digital companion for exploring Ekolsund” and involving the team from IrisBG, Mari Rustan and Øystein Rustan, with a tour in the Botanic Garden with Heidi Lie Andersen (UiB).

The rest of the week was dedicated to field excursions to gardens, forests, the natural environment and museums in and around Bergen. These included Baroniet Rosendal; Bergen’s highest mountain, Ulriken (with Helene Ødven and botanist formerly of UiB, Bjørn Moe); Matskogen på Landås; Stiftelsen Lystgården; the Museum Garden and Natural History Museum at UiB and Bryggens museum.

People in a garden with beautiful plants and white stone buildings.

Michael Pirie and delegates at the Museum Garden. Photo: Rūta Katrīna Berga

For a network seeking to improve sharing of data and knowledge this kind of event is especially important. We are very grateful to SNS for helping to make it happen.

 

 

Find more about the network here!

 

 

People in front of a big wall picture of coloured circles.

A beautiful illustration of how vegetation changes with climate as reflected in the fossil pollen record in the University Museum’s Natural History building. Photo: Michael Pirie

Do you know someone interested?