Who We Are

Organisation

There are ten departments at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:

Herbarium

Conducts research on plant resource inventories, produces manuals for identifying the plants concerned, and works with the other science departments to prepare classifications capable of predicting the likely distribution of useful properties and evolutionary relationships.

Jodrell Laboratory

Undertakes pure and applied research on anatomy, biochemistry, cytogenetics, molecular systematics, biosystematics, plant physiology and mycology.

Seed Conservation

Seed Conservation is home to the MILLENNIUM SEED BANK Project which aims to facilitate the conservation of 10% of the world's flowering plants as seed by 2010. In addition to their seed banking activity, department staff are involved in various research and technology projects on seed storage, germination and diagnostics.

Horticulture and Public Experience

Curates the collection of living plants and provides integrated education and interpretation based on this world-leading resource. The Department supports the organisation's science, conservation and visitor programmes. The living collections are housed within the historical landscapes and buildings at Kew and Wakehurst Place.

Estates

Provides all the services necessary to plan, maintain and improve a complex and demanding estate, which includes 42 listed buildings, and supervises the work undertaken by contractors.

Legal & Governance

Looks after legal and contractual issues, and the procedures which ensure the smooth operation of the governing bodies of the organisation.

Finance

Maintains all the required statutory accounting records and provides management accounts and financial information to the other departments as necessary, and provides the sound basis for financial planning.

Human Resources

Responsible for personnel management, training and development, and handles staff pay and conditions of service.

Marketing

Formulates and implements our policy on marketing, promotion, events, information and enquiries, press and public relations.

Information Services

Responsible for the Library & Archives, Computer Unit, photography, graphic design, Kew publishing, and for developing our information capability and information systems strategy.

Related Organisations

RBG Kew Enterprises

The Enterprises company manages operations which are primarily commercial. It covenants its profits to Kew, an arrangement envisaged within the National Heritage Act.

The Foundation and Friends of RBG Kew

The Foundation and Friends has the objective of raising funds for Kew from various sources including corporate donors and sponsors. It also manages Kew's Friends membership scheme.

Bentham-Moxon Trust

The Bentham-Moxon Trust was set up to provide financial support for botanical collections and research that further the work of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.