The Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden (SUBG) has been a hub for teaching and research for over a century. Over the last decade, research and academic support for and addressing South Africa’s plant conservation needs have become critical priorities. Communicating the value and pressures on plant species and habitats is vital to modern botanical gardens, especially in our landscape with its exceptional diversity and being among the highest levels of extinction risk globally. Despite being a small the Botanical Garden’s context within Stellenbosch University provides many opportunities to form strategic collaboration and partnerships. To keep their strategy and work fully aligned to local and global best practices the SUBG has established an advisory committee of experts at the end of 2024.
With a range of display upgrades – the restoration of the historic restaurant building, a new gift shop and bonsai display area, the SUBG can now put all of their energy into core strategic areas of conservation, academic support and environmental education. SUBG already holds 3 105 different plant species in 4 543 separate collections; and is one of the few global gardens still actively growing. Nearly 300 are the highest priority conservation grade collections of their most threatened wild populations, the only fully databased and population sampled plant collection in South Africa. However, there is a lot of work to do in communicating the value of these collections and working with partners to maximize their value.
Who is on the advisory committee?
The SUBG Advisory Committee is composed of a carefully selected group of experts who bring diverse perspectives and deep knowledge to SUBG’s work. The Advisory Committee will make sure the long-term vision is strategic, and that the garden’s outputs and approach support that vision. Members include key academic partners from Stellenbosch University and prominent external experts:
Professor Samuel Brockington – Curator of Cambridge University Botanical Garden. Cambridge University academic is uniquely positioned to provide input on all aspects of running a botanical garden, from fundraising and business models to public outreach and collection management.
Domitilla Raimondo – Head of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Threatened Species Programme, including the national Red List, and senior member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Domitilla brings world-leading expertise in species conservation and recovery interventions.
Prof. Nox Makunga – From the Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University. Providing support on academic collaboration to support Medicinal Plant Biology and metabolomics, tissue culture, and biotechnology
Dr Paul Hills – Senior Lecturer, Institute for Plant Biotechnology (IPBB), Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University is a key partner collaborating on conservation, tissue culture, sterile culture and germination promotors, and all things biotechnology.
Prof. Leanne Dreyer – is a longtime partner of SUBG, where we house the largest living collection of Cape Oxalis species in the world, a collection in this megadiverse genus she has built up and nurtured over decades. The collection and collaboration support plant taxonomy, systematics, plant biology; systematics of Pelargonium & Fabaceae.
The Committee is chaired by Donovan Kirkwood and Annerie Senekal, respectively the Curator and Assistant Curator at SUBG.
The functions of the Advisory Committee include reviewing SUBG strategy and collection management documents, alignment and progress of projects and/or initiatives, providing direction and advice. They will also advise on potential external collaborations, partnerships and initiatives.
Some key focus areas will be to enhance collaboration between SUBG and other botanical institutions to adopt best practices in conservation and research, secure new funding opportunities and expand impact on a global scale.
The establishment of the Advisory Committee marks a significant milestone for SUBG, reinforcing its commitment to conservation and academic support, and ensuring the achievements of the last century continues to grow.
Find out more about our advisory committee by clicking here. Keep up with SUBG news and stories on social media:
Instagram – @subotgarden
Facebook – @Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden