[Hi-res images available on request]

Could you be the person to record the thousandth living species found at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE)? This is the weekend to come along and have fun doing your bit for nature at the Big Botanics BioBlitz on the Saturday, 9. No need to be an expert, just turn up and celebrate the wonder of biodiversity only a mile from the city centre!

Pond dipping, worm charming and a spider safari are just a few of the activities in store – plus relaxing time out to visit the outstanding free exhibition in Inverleith House. The paintings and poems of The Lost Words pay tribute to raven, otter, kingfisher and 20 other names from nature being dropped from children’s dictionaries. Many of them can be found out in the Garden with the help of a brand new nature trail.

Calling for wide community participation, RBGE Science Communicator Dr Max Coleman explained: “If you thought recording wildlife had to involve going to remote wild places you’d be wrong. Daily recording of wildlife at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh by Robert Mill has revealed an incredible 999 wild plants and animals living in the Garden. This Saturday we are inviting visitors to help us break the 1000 species barrier by getting involved with the Big Botanics BioBlitz.

“The Bioblitz is a perfect fit with The Lost Words, a collaboration between writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris that resulted in an award winning book and an exhibition. A series of spell-poems and paintings bring wild nature to life, particularly for children who are losing the language of nature as it disappears from children’s dictionaries. On the new trail visitors will experience many of the plants and animals that feature in The Lost Words.”

To coincide with the BioBlitz  there will also be Botanics Wild Night Walk at 21:00 on Friday, June 8 and a Botanics Wild Walk and Breakfast at 07:00 on Saturday 9: two opportunities to experience life in the Garden before and after it is open for business. Charges do apply to these two events.

ENDS

For interviews or images, please contact: Shauna Hay on +44 (0)131 248 2900/07824529028

EDITOR’S NOTES

Botanics Wild Night Walk – Friday 8 June, 9pm

Arrive at the Botanic Cottage for a glass of fizz and canapes. Hear tales of the Garden's nightlife and learn about what we might find hiding in the dark. Graeme Wilson, Manager of The Wildlife Information Centre, will then lead an exclusive tour around the Botanics and Lothian Bat Group will provide bat detectors for you to try out during the walk.

Botanics Wild Walk and Breakfast – Saturday 9 June, 7am

Enjoy entering the Botanics, through the Botanics Cottage, before the garden is open to the public. Take an exclusive wildlife tour around the garden led by one of our experienced Garden Guides and one of our fantastic Horticulturists. Relax in the cottage afterwards with a hot drink and pastries, then head into the demonstration garden for a talk on foraging. 

Tickets cost £25 for the night walk and £18 for the morning walk. Members receive a 10% discount using the code Z2QWM9

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a leading international research organisation delivering knowledge, education and plant conservation action around the world. In Scotland