Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Blog - Botanical

The joy of volunteering at Westonbirt

Read a day in the life of a Westonbirt volunteer guide, Martin Green, who also generously gives his time as one of our charity trustees...

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Tree of the month: Magnolia kobus

This April, Westonbirt's Dendrologist, Rosie, highlights the elegant Magnolia kobus.

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Discover spring at Westonbirt Arboretum: Guided walks, family fun and a Zog trail!

Discover the natural wonder and adventure this April at Westonbirt with enchanting cherry blossoms, interactive walks, free family-friendly activities, and more. Join us and immerse yourself in the beauty of spring!...

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Expanding Westonbirt's role in global tree conservation

We’re thrilled to announce that The Friends have provided funds to support the new role of Tree Conservation Manager at Westonbirt to deliver on conservation objectives befitting a world-leading botanic institute.

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New Silk Wood Project Manager

In January 2023, we welcomed Oscar Adams to Westonbirt Arboretum as the new Silk Wood Project Manager. We caught up with Oscar to find out more about him, his role and the future of Silk Wood...

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Special delivery arrives at Westonbirt Arboretum

Late last year we welcomed the first plant intake into the recently built Quarantine House. This marks an important step in helping to protect Westonbirt's collection from pests and diseases.

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Attending the 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress

Westonbirt has long played a key role on the international stage, working closely with partners and institutions across the globe over many years for mutual benefit.

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A new partnership with the University of the West of England

We've part-fund a PhD student in collaboration with Westonbirt Arboretum over the next three years to study the risks to Limes.

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Small but still mighty!

Within the arboretum, we currently care for over 100 threatened tree species and the latest edition of ‘The Little Book of Disappearing Trees’ introduces some of the endangered trees we look after.

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Winter highlight: Scots pine

The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) was voted the national tree of Scotland in 2014 and is a member of the Pinaceae family, a conifer native to northern Europe.

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Autumn highlight: Hollyberry cotoneaster

This month’s tree of the month is the Hollyberry cotoneaster, a species of shrub in the genus Cotoneaster within the rose family.

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Never a dull day at the 'birt'

It is always wonderful to hear compliments about the arboretum from visitors and industry peers. As Collection Manager, it makes me proud to have a degree of influence in how it all comes together to form the jewel in Forestry England’s crown.

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