China congress here we come.....

On Friday the BGCI office is pretty much decamping to Wuhan, China for the 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress. This is going to be a huge event, with over 600 delegates descending on the conference centre and the welcoming Wuhan Botanic Gardens, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

I'm really looking forward to it - Telka has done an amazing job organising it, and there are going to be some really interesting speakers - I'm particularly keen to hear David Bramwell, director of the Viera y Clavijo garden in the Canary Isles talking about botanic gardens and their role with addressing climate change, and to hear from many of the China speakers about the work being done to conserve China's incredibly diverse flora. Congresses are always great fun too - basically, you get to meet up with people you haven't seen for ages, cos they live the other side of the world, and have a good catch up. I get so excited hearing about everyone's projects, plans and programmes, it really gives a sense that plant conservation on a large scale is possible, and is happening, it is not just an abstract concept, but a real aim that is being achieved on a daily basis.

Some good friends of the education team are going to be there, so I can't wait to see them - Ling Xu came to the education congress and is studying for a masters in botanic garden education at Beijing University - the first person I think in China to do so, she'll be speaking on her research result's. Chris Dalzell from Durban Botanic Garden, the hosts for the 7th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens in 2009, will be talking about their education provision. Caroline Lewis from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is presenting on their unique and innovative programme - the Fairchild challenge, which has appeared in a couple of issues of Roots. There is a big gang from SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute), which is excellent, their gardens are amazing, meeting the needs of the tourists who flock there, plus working with the surrounding communities to address the social and environmental problems that they face as part of their daily lives. So many people, I can't wait!

Anyway, I will be writing little daily reports on the congress, who's there, what is being said and what the feeling is, and any interesting tidbits I pick up. So keep your eyes peeled for all the latest from the congress, on the blog.