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THE FRIENDS OF THE

CRUICKSHANK BOTANIC GARDEN

Newsletter

July 2014

In this issue :-

• The Spring plant sale on May 10

• University of Aberdeen May Festival, May 9 to 11

Five events organised by the Friends on a Poppy theme

• AGM report and ‘apprenticeships’ available

• Bus excursion on May 31

• Long term future of the Garden

• Report of a recent illustrated talk: Fungi - Friend or Foe

• The Herb Series: Self-heal

• Friends’ gardens open for charity

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Annual General Meeting

We had a very good attendance on April 10, but unfortunately no new Friends could be

persuaded to take on committee responsibilities. Dick Morris was thanked for the shared

responsibility of Treasurer and Membership Secretary with his wife Vivien. Despite

wishing to step down and become an ordinary committee member, Dick will continue in

post while actively seeking a replacement.

Colette Jones, who had completed three years as Programme Secretary, was shown

appreciation for a succession of interesting and diverse speakers, bus excursions and

other activities. She was elected as an ordinary committee member. Jim Suttie and

Graeme Strachan have completed their three years as committee members, both

contributing significantly to the success of meetings and events. Graeme has offered to

continue his involvement in producing our calendar.

Ian and Clare Alexander were jointly appointed to the post of Programme Secretary.

The office bearers are listed on the back page.

Ordinary committee members are Vilma McAdam, John Kingsland and Colette Jones.

Ex-officio members: Rod Begbie Trustee

David Robinson Keeper of the Garden

Mark Paterson Curator

Richard Walker Head Gardener

Apprenticeships available Please consider assisting with the running of the Friends. We have around five

committee meetings each year and keep in contact by e-mail. Those currently in the

posts of General Secretary as well as Treasurer/Membership Secretary wish to hand

over responsibility while being available to provide support and advice.

The editor is a co-opted position, but she has done this for ten years and would like a

‘new broom’ with basic computing ability to take on this interesting challenge.

Troughs Elsa Plant - wonderfully appropriate name - has taken on the troughs in

the paved terrace garden, weeding, replacing and nurturing, and pruning overgrown

‘mini’ conifers. Former Head Gardener Bob Rutherford found old planting lists and

helped to identify both trough numbers and contents. Gardener Audrey Bews

provided lots of appropriate plants and the troughs now look much more

attractive. The tiny alpines are exquisite in flower but the adjacent long herbaceous

border provides a supply of thuggy hardy perennials that can overwhelm the troughs

and the joins in the paving - the pretty yellow potentilla in the wrong place is a

particular problem.

Do come OFTEN and admire these and the many other delights of the Garden; new

treasures appear every week. Gay Murton

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Spring plant sale

This must have been our best ever stock of a wide range of plants, aided by fine Spring

weather. Buyers flooded in, directed by signposting from the University May Festival

and left happily laden. Meconopsis and opium poppies were a particular attraction, as

part of the World War 1 theme of the festival. We took in a record total of £1,653 for

plants, £41 for sale of cards plus a donation of £40 making £1,737.

Adrian Marshall and Tuck-Chee Phung’s Coffee and Cakes were much in demand and

they donated their takings to the Friends, making a grand total of £2,007. They have

sold their home and splendid garden opposite Kings College back to the university, so

this was our last opportunity to enjoy their generous hospitality.

University of Aberdeen May Festival 2014

The Friends committee (mainly Colette Jones) organised five events over the three-day

weekend of 9th - 11th May 2014. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mayfestival/

Blue poppies: ‘Growing Meconopsis, propagation & maintenance’, Ian Christie,

Nurseryman

Red poppies: ‘Opportunistic lifestyles of plants and the WWI battlefields’, Clare

Trinder, Ecologist.

All-coloured poppies: Painting and botanical illustration taster workshops, Fiona Swapp

and Janne Richardson, artists.

White poppies: ‘Contemporary war, Afghanistan and Aberdeen’, Hilary Homans,

International Development Department.

Committee members of the Friends introduced each event and outlined the aims and

activities of the Friends of Cruickshank Botanic Gardens. The workshops were booked

out within three days and both lectures were well attended, so this was a fine opportunity

to publicise both the Garden and the Friends.

The Cruickshank Botanic Garden

Keeper: Professor David Robinson

Curator: Mark Paterson

Head gardener: Richard Walker

Skilled Horticulturalists: Audrey Bews and Ben Clansey

Seasonal gardener: Victor Olayzola

Opening times: April to September, daily from 9.00 to 19.00

October to March, daily from 9.00 to 16.30

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The Cruickshank Botanic Garden: A Quick Look at its

Long-term Future

Every organisation needs to plan for its future. The Cruickshank Botanic Garden is no

exception. Its living collection is not static, but is maintained by pruning, planting and

patience. Nor, sadly, is it immortal. Venerable trees succumb to damage and disease.

Severely afflicted specimens must be removed and replaced, changing – perhaps

irrevocably – the structure and feel of a much-loved garden. This horticultural statement

of the obvious serves as a preamble to this outline of some long-term plans for the

Garden that we are developing and on which we would welcome your views.

The Garden is very fortunate to have at this point in its history the strong support of the

University of Aberdeen. It would be negligent of us not to use this opportunity to think

seriously about the Garden’s future as a venue for botanical scholarship, plant

conservation and public enjoyment. Our aim and, indeed, our responsibility, is to make

this future as strong and secure as possible. These plans are intended to expand and

enhance the plant collection, provide better amenities and facilities for visitors, students

and staff, but without jeopardising the Garden’s treasured botanical and aesthetic values.

Before going any further, however, we must emphasise that none of the following

proposals has been worked out in detail, is anywhere near being submitted for approval,

or has secured the necessary funding. What follows is as much of a wish-list as anything,

and is meant to stimulate comments and suggestions to help us shape any plans that do

go forward.

First, some significant changes to the living collection that you (or your grandchildren)

might see come to fruition:

• Introduce a small area of Caledonian forest to reflect Aberdeen’s proximity to one

of Scotland’s most recognisable and historically important vegetation types.

• Continue to boost the tree collection with the planting of new species. Most

recently two species have been planted: Pin oak (Quercus palustris) and a Tulip

tree, Liriodendron tulipifera. There is also room to introduce at least one more

species of Rowan into the Sorbus collection on the labyrinth lawn.

• Replace and replant various species that are crowded out in their present

locations. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and the Pocket-handkerchief tree (Davidia

involucrata) is each a case in point.

• Improve the Rose Garden by introducing new species and cultivars, moving all

our rose specimens to the top level of the garden. The lower level will be planted

as an herbal to demonstrate medical uses of plants past and present.

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Second, we would like to provide more amenities for visitors to the Garden including:

• Toilets that are open during the Garden’s opening hours.

• A temporary covered area for special events. Stretch tents could help transform

various areas of the Garden into improved event space for Mayfest, music

recitals, theatre and weddings.

• A striking new main pedestrian entrance on St Machar Drive to improve the

Garden’s visibility to citizens of Aberdeen. That would also allow us install

systems to allow us to record visitor numbers - an invaluable aid for future

detailed planning within the Garden.

• A permanent one-storey building housing a small tea-room and exhibition area,

while also doubling as a practical teaching space within the Garden grounds.

Third, better facilities for Garden staff and volunteers are long-overdue. We would like

to:

• Improve the bothy and potting shed, both in terms of facilities and to make better

use of existing space.

• Re-open a long-disused gated entrance to allow easier access to the nursery area

for delivery vehicle access and the off-loading and storage of garden materials.

• Install a new gated entrance (for staff only) to the arboretum to improve access

for arboricultural vehicles and associated equipment.

We all know that even the best-laid plans change. That isn’t necessarily such a bad thing.

But what always must be avoided is the lack of any purposeful direction. To quote

Winston Churchill (or was it Dwight D. Eisenhower?) “Plans are of little importance, but

planning is essential.” Your views and comments are welcome!

David Robinson, Keeper and Mark Paterson, Curator

George McKay who enhanced the Garden during his sixteen years as skilled

horticulturalist, has retired for health reasons. On behalf of the Friends, he was

recently presented with a music token and Life Membership of the Friends, so we

hope he will be able to attend those events which interest him. His particular

responsibilities included the longest herbaceous border in the North East as well

as the always immaculate hornbeam hedge which shelters the nursery area. His

sound gardening advice was much appreciated by Friends and visitors.

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Words from the Garden - Japanese plants. Part 1

Did you know that the wide range of Japanese plants in British Gardens only came about

when the Japanese deciding to lift their ban on foreign trading in 1854? This caused a

great rush of plant hunters to descend upon Japan, hoping to collect previously unknown

specimens and send them home.

As you may be aware, here in CBG we have good sized collection of Japanese plants

and only when you start to list them you realise that there are so many, some now quite

common in our own gardens. However, I digress from what I want to write about, since

a list of Japanese plants in CBG would be very boring to read. What I thought would be

more interesting is to consider some of the Japanese festivals that have plants at their

very core.

Everyone knows about the Cherry Blossom festival. Hanami, as it is known in Japan, is

a centuries old practice of picnicking under blossoming cherry trees. It has become a

major festival, so much so that the Japanese weather forecast also carries news on the

cherry blossom progress as it moves across the country, called the Cherry Blossom

Front. This starts in Okinawa in January and moves northwards to Kyoto and Tokyo at

the end of March or early April. Junior members of some firms in Japan can be sent to

guard a ‘pitch’ under a tree all day, ready for the higher ranking members of the

company to gather after work.

Another festival on the 7th of January is called the Seven Plants of Spring Festival. The

following plants are eaten with rice porridge to bring good fortune and health in the

coming year.

Seri: Water parsley Oenanthe stolonifera

Nazuna: Shepherd’s purse Capsella bursa-pastoris

Gogyou: Cudweed Gnaphalium multiceps

Hakokea: Chickweed Stellaria media

Hotokenoza: Dead nettle Lamium amplexicaule

Suzuna: Turnip Brassica campestris

Suzushiro: Mooli Raphanus sativus

Just imagine the flavours, savoured in anticipation of a good year ahead!

Later there is the Seven plants of Autumn Festival to celebrate the harvest. This

involves displaying the following plants at home with rice dumplings at the full moon.

Hagi: Bush clover Lespedeza thunbergii

Suski: Japanese pampas grass Miscanthus sinensis

Kudzu: Arrowroot Pueraria lobata

Nadeshiko: Pinks Dianthus superbus

Ominaeshi: Damsel flower Patrinia scabiosfolia

Fujibakama (no English name) Eupatorium foltnei

Kikyou: Balloon flower Platycodon grandiflorum

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As a bit of fun, I challenge each member of the Friends to tell me how many of the

above plants we have and where they are in the Cruickshank Botanic Garden. Answers

on an A4 sheet please handed in to the bothy - there isn’t enough room on a postcard!

Thanks to opening up of Japan in 1854 and the efforts of British plant hunters, we now

have large collection of Japanese plants here in the UK. Botanic Garden Conservation

International (BGCI) states that in Japan many native species are under threat. We have

350 species of Japanese plants in British gardens, of which 106 vascular plants are not in

Japanese Gardens. So comparing a Botanic Garden to a zoo for plants is starting to

become a reality.

I hope in my next article to highlight our Japanese plant collection, particularly the new

plants we have acquired from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Before you ask, I was

not one of the thieves who recently broke into their Garden glasshouses and stole plants

and cuttings.

I wish you all well over the summer and hope your gardens grow as well as you would

like them to. Richard Walker, Head Gardener

Meconopsis sp. in Daluaine garden, Rhynie - much appreciated on the bus excursion.

Photograph by Rachel Spencer

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Cruickshank notes, late May 2014

What a wonderful display of flowering trees and shrubs has graced us this spring and

early summer. Rhododendrons have been smothered in flower, lilacs covered in richly

scented blooms and the whitebeams, a favoured street tree in much of Aberdeen are

magnificent, their greyish white spring foliage setting off the ample heads of white

flowers. The buds on roses and clematis suggest that this abundant display will be

carried forward into full summer.

All this is, I guess, the result of the unusually warm summer last year to ripen wood and

initiate buds, followed by a very mild winter and no serious late frosts, though on the

downside, pests have had a similarly easy time, and I have noticed a lot more greenfly

and earlier in the season than usual - and an outbreak of lily beetle in my garden for the

first time, hmm.

So to the Cruickshank which is also robustly floriferous - a delightful place for a sunny

stroll - where, breaking the habit of many years, I started my tour in the rock garden,

looking charming on a sunny day (the rock garden not me that is). At the top the large

shrubby Japanese crab apple Malus sargentii, forms a mound of white blossom,

elsewhere the two closely Daphnes D. retusa and D. tangutica are both scenting the air

with myriad rose-purple flowers. Both evergreen and both excellent garden plants for

sun or light shade, the former is more slow-growing, more compact with shorter leaves

forming pleasing domes of dark green foliage. Note also, the South American shrub

Azara lanceolata, bearing multitudes of small mustard-yellow flowers. Azara is a small

genus of evergreen shrubs or small trees from Chile and Argentina, attractive in

sheltered gardens - too tender at Craigievar - the hardiest of which A. microphylla bears

lots of tiny yellow vanilla-scented flowers in early spring.

In the south east corner of the rock garden, the hardiest of the large-leaved

rhododenrons, R. rex is thriving despite quite deep shade, its large leathery leaves

framing trusses of bell-shaped rose coloured flowers with an attractive basal crimson

blotch, while nearby in the bed under the dawn redwoods, the primula relative,

Dodecatheon pulchellum with bright pink reflexed flowers like a cyclamen and

Dicentra spectabilis, ‘Bleeding heart’ thrive amid the bulb foliage. The trees at the

eastern end of the rock garden are also worth a closer look; the magnificent multi-

stemmed southern beech, Nothofagus ( I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the species), an elegant

monkey puzzle Araucaria araucana, an ‘Ohio Buckeye’ Aesculus glabra - a horse

chestnut relative, with yellow-green flower spikes and in the border next to the kitchen

garden the elegant Koelreuteria paniculata - aka ‘Pride of India’ or ‘Golden Rain Tree’,

with splendid pinnate leaves, though according to Hilliers only flowering after hot dry

summers (fingers crossed?).

The shrubs against the warm south-facing wall are also responding to the benign

conditions last year and this. Piptanthus nepalensis, ‘Evergreen laburnum’ is very

pleasing with its large yellow pea flowers, an excellent shrub, reasonably hardy even

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inland given some shelter. I have never seen so many buds on the Wisteria sinensis here

and by now it should be fully in flower and magnificent. Next to it the Californian

currant, Ribes speciosum, with red fuchsia-like flowers is lovely, while the Chilean Fire

Bush, Embothrium coccineum, though in flower is looking rather unhappy. Enjoy also

the sumptuous flowers on the tree paeony, P. rockii, enjoying more light in the corner of

the terrace now some branches have been removed from the pine above it. Kerria

japonica in its rarer – and more pleasing single flowered form is also thriving here. On

the other side of the herbaceous border, itself about to get into its stride and well-staked

in anticipation, beyond the newly extended and colourful azalea bed Acer griseum, the

‘Paperbark Maple’ stands out, its peeling coppery bark easier to enjoy now that there is

more light. Note one more tree, on the other side of the path from the peat beds, the

interesting and unusual graft hybrid +Laburnocytisus adamii. Some branches bear

yellow laburnum flowers, whilst others bear dense congested clusters of purple-flowered

broom, while many other branches produce flowers of an intermediate coppery-pink

shade. If you missed it this year, just look at the magnificent photgraph illustrating May

in the Friends’ calendar.

There remain many more unmentioned delights so do go and enjoy a hopefully sunny

walk and let’s hope this summer is as warm as last. David Atkinson

Embothrium coccineum flower, drawn by Hazel Carnegie

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Self-heal makes all wounds whole and sound

Self-heal is a modest, diminutive herb whose charm is easily overlooked. But it can

neatly edge an herbaceous border, providing decorative purple flowering heads all

summer and can mend your cuts and grazes. Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris is a sparsely

downy perennial herb with creeping runners and erect flowering stems to 20cm tall. It is

possibly native to the British Isles and is very common in grassland, wood and

wastelands, flowering from June to October. The inflorescence is a dense oblong head

with hairy, purplish bracts and purplish calyx. The leaves are pale green and could easily

be mistaken for marjoram except on closer inspection they have fine purple-brown

edging and little fragrance. ‘Prunella’ (also spelled ‘Brunella’) is from the German word

‘braume’, which is quinsy, an inflammation of the throat revealing the plant’s use.

Prunella vulgaris was popular in traditional European medicine during the 16th and 17th

centuries as a remedy for sore throat, fever and wound healing (vulnerary). In Chinese

folk medicine it is traditional as an antipyretic remedy for the liver and gall bladder.

More recently the herb is used in the treatment of mouth and throat sores and against

Herpes simplex virus infections. Nicholas Culpeper, an apothecary writes in The

Complete Herbal in 1653 that self-heal is a herb of Venus “whereby when you are hurt

you may heal yourself”. In characteristic expressive style he continues “Where there is

cause to repress the heat and sharpness of humours flowing to any sore, ulcers,

inflammations, swellings or the like, or to stay the fluxes of blood in any wound or part,

this is used with some good success; as also to cleanse the foulness of sores, and cause

them more speedily to be healed.”

I had cause to test Culpeper’s advice the other weekend when I offered a bunch of self-

heal leaves to my neighbour whose arms were scratched as she tackled a wandering

bramble. A few days later, when I was out in the garden my neighbour came to the

dividing wall holding her smooth bare arms aloft, smiling and saying “Look, completely

healed!” Contemporary pharmacology explains the healing power of self-heal through

its chemical constituents: pentacyclic terpenes, ursolic, betulinc and oleanic acids;

tannins, prunellin; flavonoids, rutin; and polysaccharides and their associated action:

anti-inflammatory; anti-allergic; astringent; antiviral; antioxidant; and demulcent

properties.

The simplest way to use self-heal is to make a poultice. Pound up freshly picked leaves

and stalks of Prunella vulgaris to make a reasonably moist poultice for direct application

to a wound. The squashed, torn, pounded or ground material is moist and may stay in

place of its own accord or can be held in place with a strip of material. Placing a

waterproof layer over the poultice keeps the remedy moist for longer, protects clothing

and prevents dirt entering the wound. It is quite a handy plant to have in your garden.

Colette Jones

If you are interested in getting to know more about growing and using herbs please

contact me, Colette Jones Tel:01224 592390

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Fungi - friend or foe

In April Liz Holden of the Grampian Fungus Group, who has spent fifteen years

surveying wild fungi in the UK, spoke with great enthusiasm. Fungi underpin every

habitat; their visible parts, ephemeral fruiting structures, are but the tip of the iceberg.

Their main structures are vast lengths of underground hyphae (mycelia) which may live

for very many years. These may fruit rarely but are very common in the soil. New

habitats may be colonised opportunistically - woodchip mulch is a recent example.

Identification used only to be possible at the fruiting stage, but now molecular

techniques are available.

Fungi do not photosynthesise so must find their energy by other means. They may be

classified in three groups according to how they achieve this.

Mycorrhizal symbiotic exchange in association with plants. About 90% of plants have

mycorrhizal associations and contribute up to fifteen percent of their photosynthate to

their fungal partners, receiving minerals in exchange. The minerals may originate far

from the plant’s root system and be transported through the vast system of hyphae.

Detritovores which break down and consume dead plant and animal tissue are

extremely important in disposing of organic debris and recycling fertility. Only fungi

can break down lignin. Perhaps fungi evolved after the Carboniferous period, otherwise

fossil fuels might not have developed. Detritovores, the only group which can be

cultivated to the fruiting stage artificially, include mushrooms, shiitake and other

greengrocers’ fungi.

Parasitic Pathogens, well known to and feared by farmers and gardeners, are probably

much more serious in crop situations than in the wild.

After that briefing a great array of fruiting bodies were shown varying from small,

highly-coloured blobs of jelly Aleurodiscus amorphus to sturdy bracket fungi which

cause rot in birch trees. The green elf cap grows on trees, takes sugars without causing

rot and gives a green pattern to wood which is prized for marquetery. Chanterelles,

Chanterellus and ceps, Boletus, famous in cookery, are mycorrhizal. The gaudy fly

agaric, Amanita muscaria has been used as an hallucinogenic throughout the ages by

men and reindeer. Its active ingredient passes through the body unaltered and can be

reused after renal concentration.

Liz made a plea for “eco-lawns”, short turf on soil of low fertility, untreated but grazed

or mown just enough to remain short - a habitat where tiny fairy clubs and wax-caps can

thrive. Fairy rings on old, mature grassland or lawns arise when Agaricus campestris

breaks down grass along a roughly circular front, liberating nutrients to green-up

adjacent grass - they can be a source of edible mushrooms. A similar phenomenon, on a

far greater scale, occurs in boreal forests and is visible in photographs taken from space.

Cordyceps militaris parasitises caterpillars producing a “caterpillar fungus”. C. sinensis

is highly valued in cooking and medicine. I was in Tibet in 2004 during the harvesting

season; there were serious fights about collecting rights - not just disputes, lives were

lost. Jim Suttie

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Friends’ Gardens open for Charity

Birken Cottage, Burnhervie Clare and Ian Alexander

Open on Sunday July 27 from 2-5pm.

The steeply sloping one acre garden rises from a wet, streamside gully to woodland, past

sunny terraces and a small parterre to dry, flowery banks. You may recall Ian’s

presentation to the Friends last year, charting the development of their garden. Come to

delight in their collections of dianthus, roses, clematis, penstemon, hardy geranium,

anthemis, verbascum, eryngium and much, much more

Burnhervie is three miles west of Inverurie. Leave Inverurie by the B9170, Blackhall

road or the B993, St James’ Place.

E-mail: i.alexander@abdn.ac.uk Tel: 01467 623013

These gardens are open by appointment only, so please phone ahead.

Kirkside of Lochty, Menmuir, by Brechin James and Irene Mackie

The garden has a huge range of plants, many rare or unusual in formal planting round the

house as well as a fern collection, wildflower meadow and woodland paddock. Leave

the A90 toad two miles south of Brechin towards Menmuir. The house is two miles

further on behind a long beech hedge. Tel: 01356 660431

If you were unable to join our bus excursion on May 31, then each of the 30 Friends

who took part will enthuse about the guided tours and exploration of the two

following superb gardens. Both hope to see more visiting Friends in future.

Laundry Cottage, Culdrain, Gartly, Huntly Simon and Judith McPhun

An informal, cottage-style garden of about 1.5 acres with the upper garden around the

house of mixed borders, roses, flowering meadows and fruit. Steep grass banks to the

south and east are planted with native and non-native flowers, specimen shrubs and

trees. The vegetables were much further on than those in Aberdeen - how does Judith

accomplish this? Narrow grass paths lead down to the River Bogie.

It is located four miles south of Huntly on the A97.

E-mail: simon.mcphun@btinternet.com Tel: 01466 700768

Daluaine Garden, Rhynie Mary Ann Crichton Maitland

This is a garden of three parts. The sheltered riverside section has paths among ponds,

waterside planting and a vast range of unusual trees and shrubs complemented by

herbaceous colour and plenty of seating to sustain the enjoyment. There is formal

planting around the former manse and a large enclosed herbaceous section. Above this

stretches 10 acres of new arboretum with mown paths to the top of the hill. They were a

mass of blossom when we visited - laburnum, sorbus and cherry among them.

Follow signs to the cemetery from the village. Tel: 01464 861638

www.gardensofscotland.org

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August 30 / 31 Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen

Summer Flower Show, Duthie Park Open from 11am until 6pm on Saturday and 10am till 5pm on Sunday with a sale

of produce at 5.15pm on Sunday. We have decided not to have a stall this year.

Look up their website for full information and entry forms:

https://sites.google.com.site/rhsaberdeen/2014-summer-show

or e-mail secretary: rhsaberdeen@htmail.com

September 5,6,7 Dundee Flower and Food Festival

Camperdown Park

This three day event has competitive sections for vegetables, fruit, flowers,

baking and craft work as well as the World Potato and Gladiola Championships

and the World Jampionships. There will be plant sales, gardening advice from

the Beechgrove Garden team, food exhibitions and cookery demonstrations in

two acres of marquees.

Open from 10.30am to 5.30pm www.dundeeflowerandfoodfestival.com

September 13/14 and 20/21 Castle Fraser, Sauchen Annual sale of bulbs and garden produce from noon till 4.30pm

Guided walks with the gardeners on August 5 and September 2, which must be

booked: Tel: 01330 833380 or 830119

Check the National Trust for Scotland website for their many garden events

this summer: www.nts.org.uk

The ‘Chinese Moon’ gate in Leith Hall garden. Photograph by Rachel Spencer.

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Educating for the Environment

What’s in a name?

Contrary to Shakespeare’s famous quote, as keen horticulturalists, Friends of CBG will

understand the importance of names in that they reflect, define and communicate both

the meaning and purpose to that which it refers.

For exactly these reasons the former Natural History Centre has been re-launched as

Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre. The new identity reflects significant changes in our

direction and facilitates the Centre to advance its education work whilst developing more

sustainable approaches. The key purposes of the Centre are to support the Curriculum

for Excellence, which is currently being implemented in Scottish schools, and to

disseminate the research carried out by academics in the School of Biological Sciences.

The first change to be implemented involved the development and delivery of

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses to practising primary school

teachers, in a variety of science and environmental topics. Courses were designed to

train the teachers to lead their own visits in a supported environment, whilst they gained

the knowledge, skills and context of the subject to enhance their personal development

and increase their confidence in tackling scientific and environmental topics. The

courses which draw upon the resources of the Centre, Zoology Museum and

Cruickshank Botanic Garden, have proved very popular, with many teachers returning to

complete the whole programme.

Outdoor education is increasingly recognised as an important factor in the personal

development of young people which will also empower them to be fitting custodians of

the planet’s future. With the recent appointment of a new part-time member of staff we

hope to further extend our use of the green spaces and botanic collections in the garden.

One of the priorities of the Centre is to increase our engagement with secondary schools

and we are currently developing ways to support teachers with the implementation of the

Senior Phase of the Curriculum for Excellence. We have also helped several secondary

schools in their endeavours to gain a John Muir Award which recognises the importance

of young people developing a caring attitude to the environment. Our established

annual National Scottish Secondary School Science-Art competition has been has

retained by the Centre because of its popularity and success in engaging pupils in

interdisciplinary topics.

The Centre has increased collaborative projects with the local community and our

biodiversity and education network partners in the North East of Scotland. Building on

our strong links in the local area, we have increased awareness and use of Cruickshank

Botanic Garden as a venue for several art and photography groups. Additionally, we

now play an active role in the Local Biodiversity Action Plan Group, which has resulted

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in the Centre hosting events related to Citizen Science and local biodiversity which make

good use of the Botanic Gardens. Many of the biodiversity partners in our network

joined us for the University of Aberdeen’s May Festival, which this year had a strong

environmental strand which was initiated by Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre.

Next year promises to be an exciting year as we start our forward planning for ‘2015 the

International Year of Soils’ where a range of events and partnership ventures will

celebrate the research carried out here in Aberdeen within the setting of the Cruickshank

Botanic Garden.

J Marie Fish, Aberdeen Biodiversity Centre Manager.

E-mail: j.m.fish@abdn.ac.uk www.abdn.ac.uk/biodiversity @UoABiodiversity

FRIENDS EVENING TALKS 2014/5 Provisional Programme

All talks on the second Thursday of the month at 1930h in the Zoology Lecture Theatre

2014

10th October Ornamental Plants with Benefits

Alastair Griffiths, Head of Science, Royal Horticultural Association

13th November Cluny Gardens – Gardening with nature

John Mattingley, Cluny Gardens, Perthshire

11th December Herbs in Humoral Medicine: From ancient Greece to modern

practice David Pirie, Scottish School of Herbal Medicine, Edinburgh

2015

8th January Botanical Illustration

Janne Richardson (to be confirmed)

12th February Tree climbing

Vicki Tough (to be confirmed)

12th March Honey bees—Fascinating, important and threatened

John Cooper, Aberdeen District Beekeepers Association

9th April Treboprth Botanic Garden

Nigel Brown, Curator, Treborth Botanic Garden, Bangor

14th May The Living Collection (Noel Pritchard Memorial Lecture)

David Rae, Director of Horticulture, Royal Botanic Garden,

Edinburgh (to be confirmed)

Our thanks to Colette Jones who put this programme together. We are now thinking

about the programme for 2015/16. If you have any ideas for speakers you would like to

hear, or more generally about the type of talks you enjoy (e.g. plant travelogues, nursery

owners, garden owners, garden design and planting, specialists on genera, or anything

else) please e-mail us and let us know.

Clare and Ian Alexander: i.alexander@abdn.ac.uk or clare.birken@gmail.com

16

Office Bearers of the Friends, 2014-15

President: David Atkinson Tel: 01975 581278

Secretaries: Hazel Witte (General) Tel: 01224 732738

Ian/Claire Alexander (Programme) Tel: 01467 623013

Treasurer and Dick/Valerie Morris Tel: 01651 806467

Membership Secretary: Veslehaug, Polesburn, Methlick, Ellon, AB41 7DU

E-mail: dickm@waitrose.com

Subscription rates Non-earning £10.00

Ordinary £20.00

Life £200.00

www.abdn.ac.uk/botanic-garden

Scottish Charity number: SC004350

The next issue will be published in September 2014 Please

contact the editor with ideas and any information which you

wish to be shared with other Friends.

Articles should be sent in by September 7.

Hazel Witte, Monearn, Maryculter, Aberdeen AB12 5GT

Tel: 01224 732738 E-mail: witte@btconnect.com