Saving Darwin’s Orchids – a talk by Philip Seaton of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

11am on Saturday March 10th 2012. Venue: Principality House in the Garden of Wales, Llanarthne.

Philip Seaton has been interested in orchid cultivation for over 30 years, but he has a particular interest in scientific aspects of orchid conservation and the setting up of orchid seed banks in particular. In 1985 he received a Master of Philosophy degree for his research into orchid seed storage followed, in 2000, by the award of a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to study the problems of ex-situ orchid conservation in Latin America.  At the time he received the Winston Churchill award, Phil was a biology lecturer in a College of Further Education, and he had been studying Spanish in his spare time to enable him to travel more easily in Latin America. 

In 2004 Phil took early retirement to work full time with orchids. He soon became Secretary of the IUCN Orchid Specialist Group, and later a founding member and Trustee of the charity Orchid Conservation International, whose aim is to raise funds for orchid conservation projects. 

 Phil is presently employed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as Project Manager for the Darwin Initiative project - Orchid Seed Stores for Sustainable Use (OSSSU).  The aim of the project is to establish a global network of orchid seed banks, beginning initially with facilities in 16 countries in Latin America and Asia.   He has held workshops in Chengdu (China) and Quito (Ecuador) to teach orchid seed storage techniques and exchange ideas and expertise with representatives from participating institutions.

In his talk ‘Saving Darwin’s Orchids’ Philip Seaton will explore the threats to orchids and their habitats, explaining the range of steps being taken by communities across the world to challenge the dangers to orchid populations and to conserve them for future generations.