Joseph Banks, Kew & the Plant Hunters

Our speaker for the June meeting is the engaging Andrew Sankey, who has previously talked to us about colour in the garden and garden design. In this presentation Andrew will talk about one of his botanical heroes, Joseph Banks. Banks first came to fame as the botanist on Captain James Cook first voyage to the antipodes, returning with many new plants not previously seen in Europe before. He was later tasked by King George III to establish a national botantic garden, which he did in Kew botanic gardens and was the first unofficial director, sending botanists around the world to collect plants, making Kew one of the world’s best botanic gardens. He was also the president of the Royal Society for 41 years. So come along to hear about this champion of botany and the natural world, brought to life by Andrew’s enthusiastic presentation.