Alistair Hardaker | Image: Kew's Palm House Interior (Ines Stuart-Davidson © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew)
A project to make the 180 year old Palm House the first carbon neutral glasshouse of kind is opening to a public appeal
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has launched a public appeal to help fund the restoration of its Victorian glasshouse.
It hopes to raise £1m from the public appeal, which will help fund the project’s total projected £66m cost. Kew said it has secured approximately half of the funds.
The Palm House has stood at Kew Gardens since 1848, but now faces “an urgent need for major renovation”, said Kew.
It houses a living collection of tropical plants, some of which are extinct in the wild. The project will see new glazing, renewable heating systems and rainwater harvesting tanks installed, with the aim of creating the first carbon neutral glasshouse of its kind.
The public appeal will allow the public to make a direct donation, sponsor a pane of glass or tropical plant species. Donations up to £300,000 will be matched.
Richard Deverell, director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew said: “For generations, the Palm House has been a place where people encounter the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth. It is a building that has inspired wonder for almost 180 years, but its future cannot be taken for granted.”
Tom Pickering, head of glasshouses at RBG Kew, added: “At a time of accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, understanding the far-reaching importance of rainforests has never been more critical. We depend on them for the regulation of our climate, their resources, medicines and as homes for millions of people”.
