We must all realise why botany and Kew Gardens really matter
By Paul Evans
Kew is more than a venerable historic institution; it is a living thing, a community of plants and people that has grown through the centuries. Kew tells us about the past (inglorious though some of its stories are) and it is telling us about our future, too.
When we learn that government ministers are refusing to guarantee long-term funding for Kew I worry that new threats to plants and places will multiply without the research to describe what those threats mean. It has already had to lay off 50 scientists.
