On 1 November (this Thursday), the Landscape Institute is hosting the annual Jellicoe Lecture, a free event designed to inspire leadership within the landscape profession, at Edinburgh’s iconic Royal Botanic Garden. Continue reading Landscape Institute’s Jellicoe Lecture at The Botanics
Saturday 15th September 2 – 4.15pm
You are invited to an Edinburgh Shoreline event at the Botanic Garden on 29 March. This is the start of a year- long project focusing on the Edinburgh Shoreline – its rich history, culture and biodiversity – with input from local communities regarding how they relate to their section of coast and how they envisage it in the future. Continue reading Green Tease: get involved in the Edinburgh Shoreline
BIODIVERSITY WORKSHOPS
Thursday 1st February
3pm – 5.30pm or 6pm – 8:30pm
Granton United Church, Boswall Parkway
The Workshop will ask:
Funded by Adaptation Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh is running this pilot project to consult with communities about solutions to climate change and adaptation.
Following an open application process, the Re-Imagining Your Gardens & Streets project was chosen to be our latest Community Engagement Pioneer Project. Jointly ran by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, the project will investigate a range of community engagement techniques by running outreach events focused on generating ideas to transform streets in the Granton area into well adapted community spaces.
The design of streets and gardens can significantly influence an areas resilience to climate impacts, with large amounts of paved areas contributing to surface water flooding, reduced biodiversity and urban heat island effect. These spaces are also literally on our doorsteps, and represent a tangible and immediate route in to talking to communities about wider adaptation themes.
However, community improvements are best driven by community aspiration, so this project will focus on first introducing the broad concept of creating well adapted streets and gardens, and then facilitate a community conversation to find the ideal interpretation for this unique area.
We will be working with the creative practitioners from the Museum of Future Now to help community members imagine this aspiration future and the ideas they come up with will be turned into illustrations for display in the community hub.
Alongside this, a neighbourhood adaptation planning tool will be created to help other areas explore the possible routes to creating well adapted gardens and streets. This work will compliment other initiatives ongoing in the city, including Edinburgh Living Landscape and Edinburgh Adapts.
There’s still time to book your workshop place: contact Leone on 0791 873 6481 or email lalexander@rgbe.org.uk
Edinburgh Doors Open Day takes place this weekend (26 & 27 September) and this year is following the theme of ‘Edinburgh’s Food & Drink’.
Doors Open Day is a celebration of Edinburgh’s architecture, culture and heritage and has been organised by The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh’s Civic Trust) since 1991.
Over 100 venues to will throw open their doors over the weekend, with something to suit the taste of just about everyone: there are the regular favourites, new venues and interesting spaces and activities to celebrate the 25th year of the popular event.
North Edinburgh Arts is among the local venues getting involved this year:
North Edinburgh Arts is delighted to be taking part in Doors Open Day 2015. We are ideally situated between the Royal Botanic Gardens (number 32) and the National Museums Collection Centre (number 31) so why not make a morning tour of the North Edinburgh venues and pop in for a cake and freshly ground coffee in our community café.
Guided tours of our award-winning garden will be starting at 11am and 1pm this Saturday (26 September). Our ship-themed sandpits will keep the kids amused for hours too, with buckets and spades available to use (refundable deposit is required). We are number 30 on the map.
To find out what’s on offer across Edinburgh this weekend, see brochure (below)
His Excellency Rolando Drago, Chilean Ambassador to the UK, accepts the gift of a painting from award-winning botanical artist Gülnur Ekşi during the Royal Horticultural Society’s London Botanical Art Show last weekend.
Also in the photograph is botanist Paulina Hechenleitner – accompanied by daughter Martha – one of three authors of the forthcoming book Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile for which Gülnur has prepared 35 paintings.
The book – the first one of its kind in English – will be published by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in early October 2015.
If you are looking for something extra special for your garden then why not visit The Botanic Gardens’ Plant Sale this Sunday (11 May)?
It’s your annual chance to purchase from an enviable collection of plants at truly wonderful prices, plus there’s the Connoisseurs Collection & Home Baking Stall too.
As well as finding something new for your garden, you’ll be helping the Friends of RBGE to raise much-needed funds – last year’s sales raised over £12,000 for RBGE’s research and conservation work.
The sale takes place at the RBGE nursery (Inverleith Avenue South) from 2 – 4pm. Admission £3, free to members.
Birdwatchers can get close up and personal with a beautiful bird of prey – without having to leave the comfort of their armchairs
A webcam was mounted in a sparrowhawk nest within the Botanic Gardens on 29 May, and since then there’s been live online video of activity at the nest. This is the third year in succession with live video coming from a sparrowhawk nest in the Garden.
Research is showing that the Garden is a key breeding site for these magnificent birds – the regular successful breeding in the Garden is a reflection of a healthy songbird population in this part of Edinburgh as these small birds make up the key prey items of sparrowhawks.
The project is the result of a partnership involving the Garden, RSPB Scotland, Lothian and Borders Raptor Study Group and the Scottish Seabird Centre. RBGE is particularly delighted to see the return of the sparrowhawk in this the Year of Natural Scotland, a celebration of our country’s wildlife and natural assets.
To see the local sparrowhawks in action go to
www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/edinburgh/sparrowhawk-nestcam
RBGE
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A giant poplar tree is to be illuminated at The Botanics for Christmas.
Light artist Malcolm Innes will be lighting up the tallest tree in the Garden, a poplar which stands at almost one hundred feet tall.
The tree will be transformed with a mix of uplighting and sparkling lights from Friday 16 November, and the tree will be lit from 1 – 4pm every day throughout the festive season until Sunday, 6 January, brightening up those gloomy winter afternoons.
It’s a big weekend at the Botanics, with family drop-in activities and a late late show on Sunday for a special event …
Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 October, 12 noon – 4.30pm
Take part in a weekend of astronomy fun for all the family with The Royal Observatory. See a comet-making demonstration and handle some real meteorites! In true Halloween style, we’ll not only be exploring spooky space but also spooky plants. Have you ever seen a bat plant?
Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway. Free – no booking required
Sunday 28 October, 6.30pm
Pop your beanies on and enjoy a very special FREE late night opening of the Gateway on Sunday 28 (entry via West Gate on Arboretum Place only). You’ll get an introduction to astronomy and the night’s sky, meet the astronomers and (if it’s clear) partake in stargazing activities using powerful telescopes. Doors open at 6.30pm and introduction to astronomy/stargazing sessions will run from 7pm-9pm. Sign up on the night on a first come, first served basis. There will also be talks on astrobiology and more comet-making demonstrations. The Gateway Restaurant Bar and the Botanics Shop will be open for hot and cold drinks and pre-Christmas shopping!
With the Royal Observatory.
