Zoo gains botanical garden status in UK first

Chester Zoo has been recognised as an internationally important botanic garden by the global organisation dedicated to plant conservation.

The zoo cares for hundreds of plant species, including both UK and exotic flora, many of which are at risk.

It is the first zoo in the UK to receive accreditation from Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).

Head of plants Philip Esseen said the endorsement would help the zoo increase the amount of conservation work it could do, adding: "We are caring for species that are threatened with extinction in the wild, and that carries a responsibility to protect them, propagate them and share our expertise with others."

BGCI assessors had examined the zoo's plant education, sustainability, research and conservation.

The zoo has gardens and planted areas which are open to visitors and also keeps thousands of plants behind-the-scenes for conservation and research.

These include five National Plant Collections, part of a UK-wide scheme, to ensure important cultivated plants are not lost altogether.

"In some cases, we are caring for plants that barely exist anywhere else," Richard Hewitt, from the zoo's plant nursery, said.

"For example, there are three species from an island in the Madeiran archipelago which have almost disappeared from botanical gardens.

"We've been entrusted with seeds by the Madeiran government to help prevent their extinction."

One of those species, Musschia isambertoi, is on the edge of extinction in the wild after its native habitat was destroyed.

"As we know it has never successfully produced seed outside its natural habitat," Hewitt said.

The zoo is also involved in the propagation and re-planting of threatened UK species, including black poplar, an endangered timber tree.

Patricia Malcolm from BGCI, said Chester Zoo's significant contributions to plant conservation led the zoo to become one of only two in Europe to achieve Conservation Practitioner status.

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