In 2018 a team of intrepid explorers came in to the possession of a treasure map - one which would see them venture half way around the world to the Australian island of Tasmania.  

Those explorers were a team of garden experts from across the UK and Ireland who were now on a historic mission to save and catalogue plants for the benefit of people and the planet.

Following in the footsteps of the historic plant hunters, find out what was in store for the team of modern-day collectors and how natural history has helped to shape gardens around the world.

Host: Rosie Holdsworth

Producer: Jack Glover

Sound Design: Jesus Gomez

Charlie Bancroft and team BIBET

Caroline Ikin

Images courtesy and with thanks from the Royal Botanic Gardens of Tasmania. All Rights Reserved.

Explore a garden lovers home at Nymans in West Sussex where some of the collected species are now flourishing  https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/nymans

Read Charlie’s report here: https://merlin-trust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/718-Charlie-Bancroft-compressed.pdf

Find out more about historic plant hunters from our friends at Kew Gardens https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/adventure-and-discovery-around-the-world-with-plant-hunters

BIBET Botantic Gardens  

Republic of Ireland https://www.botanicgardens.ie/kilmacurragh/

Northern Ireland https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/mount-stewart Wales https://botanicgarden.wales/

Tasmania https://gardens.tas.gov.au/