Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees' responsibilities are to oversee the management of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and to provide strategic guidance to Senior Management.

Trustees are appointed (and can be reappointed) for four yearly terms by Scottish Ministers. The Board is accountable to Scottish Ministers through the Chair. There are nine members of the Board of Trustees.
Useful links
- RBGE Science Advisory Committee
- Corporate policies

Board of Trustees

Mr Dominic Fry (Chair): has had a successful career as an Executive and Trustee spans retail, energy, the public sector, social mobility and the arts. He has over 30 years of experience in senior, strategic communications roles working with the Boards of large, complex and high profile organisations. Most recently as Director of Communications & Investor Relations for Marks & Spencer, Dominic’s responsibilities included the communication of M&S’ ethical and environmental Plan A during a decade on the M&S Management Board. Dominic combines strategic thinking with the conviction to get things done. He has proven influencing skills across issues, media, and reputation management, as well as a wide network of influential contacts in the UK and internationally. Dominic has strong commercial experience and has been involved with successful fundraising campaigns for several charities as a Trustee.
Ms Sarah Cathcart: Sarah is Vice President, Education at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA. Sarah has spent her career in education having joined Longwood from the RHS where she was Head of Education. Sarah moved to the US in 2017 and implemented an entirely new education strategy and approach at Longwood. Recognised worldwide for its formal education programmes, Longwood, under Sarah’s direction, instigated a new and innovative range of informal and inclusive educational opportunities. Sarah’s achievements at the RHS included gaining recognition for gardening in the English National Curriculum and an imaginative and ground breaking collaboration with the UK Space Agency on the Rocket Science Project linking citizen science, plants and space which increased the RHS schools’ membership to 27,000 schools. Sarah is passionate about horticultural education and believes in the need to coordinate and collaborate globally to prevent biodiversity loss. In 2014 Sarah became Vice Chair of the Education and Employment Group at the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable, working with industry and DEFRA to address the UK horticulture skills crisis. Sarah actively supports public gardens and schools through programmes like Seed Your Future, Niagara Parks Education Advisory, and the Unionville Schools District Grounds group. Sarah is a regular speaker at conferences on education in horticulture around the world.
Dr David Hamilton: has a degree in Botany from the University of Glasgow and a doctorate from Imperial College, London. Since completing them, he has worked in the private sector where he owns and runs a management consultancy specialising in financial services. Dr Hamilton has a wide range of experience covering plant science, strategy, project management, and partnership ventures. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Rock Trust, a Scottish homelessness charity headquartered in Edinburgh. Dr Hamilton is a member of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Investment Committee.
Dr Ian Jardine: has degrees in ecology and zoology and was Chief Executive of Scottish Natural Heritage from 2002 until 2017, having worked for the organisation since 1992. He has extensive experience of biodiversity, conservation and environmental education, including at international level. From 2017 to 2019 Dr Jardine was National Adviser on Environmental Policy working with the Scottish Government.
Prof Sarah Gurr: holds the Chair in Food Security at Exeter University. Sarah studied at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (BSc, ARCS, DIC and PhD (Plant Pathology)) where she was awarded the Huxley Medal for her outstanding record of achievement. Sarah was a post-doctoral fellow at St Andrews University and a Reader and Professor at Oxford University where she held a Leverhulme Trust Royal Society Senior Research and a NESTA Fellowship. Sarah was the first woman President of The British Society of Plant Pathology (2011), and was recently appointed to The International Advisory Board at SLU University, Uppsala, and as Advisor to the Scottish Government on Plant Health (RESAS 2018). Sarah was a curator of the Oxford Botanic Garden for 20 years and is a Fellow of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In 2019 Sarah was listed amongst the most highly cited researchers into plant pathology worldwide and has authored or co-authored over 170 publications including 12 high profile papers in Science, Nature and Nature Journals. Sarah lectures on plant disease - with particular emphasis on fungal infestations - all over the world and is a regular contributor on the topic across a wide range of international and national media. Sarah has great empathy for RBGE’s mission and ethos and will make a significant contribution to the team as we continue to counter the twin threats of biodiversity loss and the climate emergency.
Ms Liz Trevor: Liz runs her own strategic business development business working with a diverse range of clients across the private, public and not for profit sectors. has been a non-executive director of a number of organisations including Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Winchester Business Improvement District and Action Hampshire. Liz is now a resident of Scotland and a member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. Liz’s experience of working with visitor attractions includes working with Marwell Wildlife to secure a £1.5m Local Growth Fund investment for a new Tropical House. Liz was also instrumental in establishing beneficial corporate partnerships with a number organisations across the heritage, hospitality and education sectors. Liz’s career prior to setting up her own business spanned 20 years working in senior management roles in the UK airports sector for BAA airports and Global Infrastructure Partners both in the UK and internationally. In addition to strong leadership skills, this experience provided Liz with expertise in economic regulation, infrastructure planning, consultation and business strategy. As Head of Strategy for Gatwick Airport, Liz was a member of the airport’s infrastructure investment board responsible for evaluating each segment of the customer’s journey to better understand the customer experience. Liz believes strongly in the importance of connectivity, collaboration and partnership and will provide RBGE with a wealth of experience on maximising the value of assets and infrastructure at a time of change.
Prof Cara Aitchison: is President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University. She is currently a Council Member of the All Party Parliamentary Universities Group, Council Member of CBI Wales, and a Member of the Cardiff Capital Region Economic Growth Panel. Professor Aitchison was previously Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth Marjon University, Head of Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh where she was also Professor of Social and Environmental Justice, and Dean of the Faculty of Education, Sport and Tourism at the University of Bedfordshire. She was also Professor in Human Geography and Director of the Centre for Leisure, Tourism and Society at the University of the West of England, Bristol and Chair of the Research Excellence Framework Sub-Panel for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism.
Prof Elise Cartmell: is Chief Scientist at Scottish Water and is responsible for their Scientific and Research and Innovation Services. Prior to that she was Professor of Water Technology and Director of Environmental Technology at Cranfield University. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Chemistry and is on the Boards of UK Water Industry Research and Scottish Water Horizons. Professor Cartmell is a chemist with a BSc (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD from Imperial College, London.
Ms Stella Morse: is the Chair of Eden Mill, the spirits company working in partnership with the University of St Andrews to create a new sustainable Distillery at St Andrews. She has had a long career in finance and strategy at Board level in consumer businesses including Heineken UK. Most recently supporting organisations to innovate and increase customer engagement as a NXD for the specialist whisky retailer The Scotch Malt Whisky Society and the UK’s largest fully certified organic supermarket. She has a lifelong interest in the world of plants and previous Trustee experience spanning fundraising, creative learning work, and community engagement.

Trustee Documents

Board Meeting Minutes

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Register of Interest

Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Organisational Charts

Board of Trustees' Committees

Edinburgh Biomes Governance

Sub Committee Terms of Reference

RBGE Board of Trustees' Sub Committee Terms of Reference for the Website December 2021

Diversity Reporting

Report on Board Gender Diversity – June 2023

If you would like to receive the above documents in another format which is more accessible to you, then please email webmaster@rbge.org.uk or telephone 0131 552 7171.

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