Kew Ambassadors and Champions Kim Cattrall, Emilia Fox, Advolly Richmond, Phoebe Smith, James Wong, Konnie Huq and Dr Amir Khan visited the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew last night to offer their support in the final phase of digitising Kew’s dried plant and fungal specimens, making these vital resources freely accessible around the world.
Kew’s Herbarium and Fungarium collections combined contain around eight million specimens and are the world’s most diverse botanical and mycological collections. They represent approximately 95% of vascular plant genera and 60% of known fungal genera.
These specimens act as ecological time capsules and hold a wealth of information about species characteristics, genetic diversity, chemical properties, and where they were found growing at a particular moment in time.
The data can help scientists understand how the world is changing and underpins research that can help combat climate change, save species from extinction, protect critical ecosystems, and discover better medicines and future-proof agriculture worldwide.
The group also called on everyone to show support for the planet by donating to the Digitisation Project this week as part of the Big Give. From Tuesday, December 3, to Tuesday, December 10, anyone can donate through the Big Give Christmas Challenge: Unlocking Kew’s globally unique Collections to help scientists accelerate vital research and equip the global community to fight back against the extinction crisis.
The first £25,000 of donations received to the campaign will be doubled thanks to Big Give’s funders and generous donations*.
Highlighting the enormous need to accelerate research into combating these global challenges – helping secure the future of life on Earth – Kew’s Ambassadors and Champions joined the Digitisation Project team to learn more about the effort and lend their support in the final push to digitise the remaining 2 million specimens.
Kew Ambassadors and Champions shares their thoughts:
Actor Kim Cattrall said, “I’m honoured to be allowed to image a beautiful eagle fern (Pteridium aquilinum) specimen at Kew. It was collected more than 100 years ago, and I feel privileged to record it for posterity, as it represents a tangible link to my home of British Columbia.
“I believe in sharing knowledge and the importance of science in addressing the threats nature faces. I hope everyone can support this in Big Give’s Christmas Challenge this week to help see this valuable project to completion.”
Botanist, author and presenter James Wong said, “Kew’s Digitisation Project is vital for biodiversity. Making plant and fungal data accessible to researchers worldwide will provide invaluable insights into some of the major challenges facing the planet.
“I was so happy to play a part in that today by digitising a rare specimen of snowy saxifrage (Saxifraga nivalis – now known as Micranthes nivalis). It’s quite special to think that I can be a part of this incredible plant’s future.”
Actor Emilia Fox commented, “Digitising a specimen of English Daisy here at Kew has been such a memorable experience. What an honour! It’s a plant steeped in symbolism and cultural heritage and always makes me think of English gardens and making daisy chains as a child. We are all aware of the challenges the planet is facing today, and it can sometimes feel difficult to know how to help in the future.
“Donating to Kew’s Digitisation Project is a great way to support the cause – the digitisation of the plants and fungi at Kew is a meaningful way to contribute to the global scientific research and preservation of nature.”
Dr Amir Khan, Medical doctor, author, TV presenter, and Ambassador for Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, said, “I’ve really enjoyed taking part in Kew’s Digitisation Project, having the unique opportunity to image a dried specimen of Indian Elm, a plant with an incredible array of medicinal properties.
“Nature is vital for our wellbeing and for the wellbeing of all life on Earth, which is why I wanted to support this ambitious project and came on board as one of Kew Wakehurst’s first Champions earlier this year. The data contained within these digitised plants and fungi will help scientists around the world unlock new medicines and foods and bring out positive change for our planet.”
Plant & Garden Historian, author and presenter Advolly Richmond highlighted, “It has been a great privilege today to contribute to Kew’s Digitisation Project, a specimen of the snowdrop species Galanthus nivalis.
“Having had the honour of having a species named after me, snowdrops are of great personal importance. More importantly, however, by opening these collections to the public and by supporting Kew’s Digitisation Project, we can help scientists access invaluable data to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges we face, and that is a cause worthy of support.”
Adventurer and author Phoebe Smith said, “It meant the world to me to digitise a specimen of the fern Christella arida from the collections of Eryl Smith here at Kew today. As a woman botanist and fellow Welsh adventurer, Eryl’s story is truly inspirational, and this specimen is just one of thousands she has collected in various parts of the globe.
“I think taking part in Kew’s ambitious digitisation project and sharing Eryl’s collections with the world will help connect us to a rich history of intrepid female botanical exploration and aid global efforts to preserve nature for future generations.”
Broadcaster and writer Konnie Huq said, “I’ve been honoured by Kew’s invitation to support their Digitisation Project and to personally digitise an incredible specimen of necklace fern (Lindsaea ensifolia) to add it to their growing online database of plants and fungi. Kew is an incredible organisation that is waving the banner for nature, and projects such as this not only strive to safeguard nature for the benefit of us all but also to help to contribute meaningful change for environmental conservation.”
Welcoming the group to Kew this week, Director of RBG Kew, Richard Deverell, said, “Digitising our specimens is an urgent project to help find solutions to the current biodiversity crisis. We thank our wonderful ambassadors and champions for using their platform to call on others to help us get this project over the line and unlock the immense knowledge held within our plant and fungal collections.
“We are so proud of what we have, but it is no use if it is not applied to help us solve real-world problems. We know that urgent action is required now – as both a charity and a world-renowned centre of expertise, Kew is in the unique position to disseminate our knowledge and collections both physically and digitally for global benefit.”
About Kew’s Digitisation Project
- The Herbarium at Kew contains around 7 million plant specimens, and the Fungarium houses over 1 million fungi specimens, making them a treasure trove of global plant and fungal diversity.
- The project is around 75% complete (in terms of the number of specimens digitised).
- Over 300 people were involved (mostly from the third-party contractor Max Communications Ltd).
- Kew has been imaging around 100,000 specimens a week (although this will dramatically decrease now as we near the end of this stage of the project).
- If 8 million herbarium specimens were lined up end to end, they would stretch 3,360 km. This distance is approximately equivalent to the distance from London to Cairo.
- The digitisation of the collections and the online portal have been part-funded by Defra, appeal supporters, private philanthropists, Fujifilm Electronic Imaging Europe GmbH, The HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust, and the first Chairman of Kew’s Board of Trustees, Lord John Eccles.
*During this 7-day period, the first £25,000 of donations to the campaign will be doubled until the matched total of £50,000 is achieved. This is made possible by Big Give’s funders and Kew’s generous donors. Gifts received beyond the match limit won’t be matched but will be greatly appreciated by the Digitisation team.
The images contained in this feature are all courtesy of Getty Images.
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