Download PDF - St. Catherine's College

ALUMNI NEWSDavid Mabberley (1967, Botany)As First Keeper of the Herbarium, Library and Archives,David Mabberley is in charge of all the collectionsat the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, that are not alive.The herbarium is an internationally important repositoryfor collections of dried and otherwise preservedspecimens that document the identity of plantsand fungi. It contains a staggering 7 million specimens(approximately 350,000 of which are type specimens–the original examples on which new speciesdescriptions have been based), including those fromthe personal herbaria of collectors such as CharlesDarwin and David Livingstone.Since taking up the post of Keeper in March 2008,David has implemented a new strategic plan for hisdepartment where, supported by three AssistantKeepers and the Herbarium Support Team, hesupervises a staff of 150. He is heavily involved withthe general and strategic management of Kew Gardens,and is playing a lead role in disseminating Kew’smission – ‘to inspire and deliver science-based plantconservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life’ –to a wider audience. The Gardens work in partnershipwith organisations and individuals from across theglobe in a vast range of conservation projects.A decline in state funding – less than half of Kew’sincome comes from the government – means that, tofulfil its mission and maintain its global eminence, Kewmust raise millions of pounds each year. Having gainedconsiderable fundraising experience while Director ofthe University of Washington Botanic Gardens, Davidnow devotes a significant portion of his time to helpingsecure the long-term financial future of the Gardens.In 2009, Kew will celebrate the 250th anniversary of itsfoundation with the launch of a major new fundraisinginitiative and a series of events including high-profilelectures at learned institutions – David himself willdeliver a lecture at the Victoria and Albert Museum.In addition to overseeing the daily operationand continued expansion of the herbarium itself,David is responsible for the finest plant-sciencelibrary in the world, which, continually augmentedby new acquisitions, contains the latest publicationsalongside priceless antique volumes. The stewardshipof Kew’s extensive and internationally importantarchives and its botanical art collection also fallswithin David’s care. The Gardens are home to over200,000 works of art and two galleries, one ofwhich, the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, is the world’sfirst gallery to be designed specifically for thedisplay of botanical art.Despite the rigours of his current post, David, with thehelp of an assistant, continues to undertake his ownresearch, and one of his current projects involves thestudy of a terrible disease that is blighting citrus fruitsacross the world. He is also continuing to expand andupdate his seminal work The Plant Book: A PortableDictionary of the Vascular plants, a botanical text thatis widely acknowledged to be an essential referencework for researchers, growers and writers alike.The thirdedition ofDavidMabberley’sseminal workThe PlantBook:A PortableDictionaryof the VascularPlants waspublished inMay 200838/DAVID MABBERLEY