While renowned for its population of over 30,000 animals, Chester Zoo also works to support and preserve plant life on the planet. Recently, the northwest conservation charity and attraction announced that it had achieved official recognition for being a botanic garden of global importance.
The milestone means that Chester Zoo is one of only two zoos in Europe and the only UK zoo to receive the prestigious accreditation. The official acknowledgement was presented by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International; a worldwide organisation committed to plant conservation.
Head of Plants at Chester Zoo, Philip Esseen, commented on the recent achievement:
“This recognition shows that our plant work has real conservation value. The accreditation will help us work more closely with other horticultural and conservation organisations and increase the amount of conservation work we can do, particularly to support native species.”
Richard Hewitt, manager of the zoo’s Plant Nursery Team, added that some of the plants being cared for in Chester barely exist in the world. He cited that the Madeiran government had entrusted the team with seeds from an island where a plant species has almost entirely vanished from botanical gardens.
Beyond the planted areas and gardens accessible to visitors, the zoo’s tireless team keep and care for thousands of other plants for research and conservation. Among them are five different “National Plant Collections” that are included in a nationwide scheme to guarantee that important cultivated plants are never lost.
The collections are meticulously maintained and documented to safeguard a multitude of plant species for posterity.