Botanical garden status

We are proud to announce that we have recently received the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) accreditation of ‘Botanic Garden – Conservation Practitioner’, which establishes our botanical garden credentials. We caught up with Head of Plants, Phil Esseen to explain why this is significant for the zoo:

How did the Plant team contribute towards the accreditation status?

The accreditation looked at 22 different areas across the zoo’s plant work, and included factors like horticultural skills, education, sustainability, interpretation, research, communication, and the conservation value of the work we do here.

There are 30 of us split across three key areas within the wider plant team and all three were involved in these areas that the accreditation looked at - whether it’s managing the public garden areas to support biodiversity, managing the Nature Reserve, or growing threatened plants.

Everyone has an impact on the zoo’s contribution to plant conservation. Other teams across the zoo, from the Conservation Engagement and Education team, to the field programmes team, and so many more also played a huge part in helping to achieve this award.

I’m really proud of the team, and proud we have received Botanic Garden accreditation. It’s great to be able to say we were the first zoo in Britain and the second in Europe to be recognised in this way.

Why is the accreditation status so significant for the zoo?

It's helping to raise the profile of the zoo and the plant team’s work with other horticultural and conservation organisations, and with the public. We hope it will help us increase the amount of conservation work we can do, especially now because we’re looking at what we can do to support more native plant species.

I think the accreditation is a reflection of how well the team works – the 22 categories we had to fulfil were quite straightforward because we are already drawing on such a dedicated, diverse, skilled and innovative group of people to do so much. The accreditation just further confirms that what we’re doing is working well and that we’re continuing to move forward in supporting the conservation of incredible species of plants.

Why do you think it’s important for us to have gardens in the zoo?

There’s a phenomenon known as ‘plant blindness’, where people don’t notice plants and cannot identify them. That has wider conservation implications, as people are less likely to protect something they don’t recognise. Having gardens in the zoo provides visitors an opportunity to engage and learn about the plants and the importance of looking after them.

Some visitors prefer to walk-through the gardens in the zoo without focusing on them, with a higher interest in seeing the next animal, taking the gardens in on a more subliminal level. Then some guests come in to see the plants and often feedback that the gardens here have positively shaped their zoo experience. As well as important conservation work, the gardens provide a nice environment for all visitors and a chance to reconnect with nature right here, in Chester.

How has gardening and the gardens themselves changed with time since the zoo opened?

The horticultural work at the zoo has evolved a lot. Back in the 60s and 70s, the gardens were highly ornamental, with massive displays of ornamental bedding, fuchsias, and roses. We have moved on from that towards a style of planting and landscaping that prioritises local wildlife, sustainability, and with the aim of reflecting the natural habitats of the animals we care for.

We know the plants contribute to the ‘feel’ of a zone. A great example of this is the plants that we grow in Heart of Africa. These were very carefully chosen to help build that sense of place. Our work is functional too; plants offer the animals privacy, creating natural frames and screens, and they also provide the animals with food, scented herbs, and branches for enrichment. They’re also a part of the visitor’s journey; the placement of planting beds, greenery, and the borders along paths help guide them through a zone.

How do we use plants at the zoo to enhance visitor experience?

Planting helps us give visitors that sense of adventure. There are areas designed to invite people in, like the willow arch, or to offer alternative, ‘secret’ paths, like the tall grasses by the Madagascar playground.

The feature gardens are also quite important. They give visitors a nice, calm area to relax in - which is important when we can have more than 10,000 people a day moving around the zoo. The Sunken Garden, the Rock Garden, and the Plant Project are places people can go to rest and reflect for a while. We know that staff like to take breaks in the gardens. They’re perfect for a little breather.

It's also quite well known that gardens and green spaces are good for people’s wellbeing. They can engage all your senses. We plant to encourage that, bringing in species that have a distinctive scent, like Escallonia resinosa, which smells of curry, and we encourage people to stop, listen, smell, and gently touch. Some of the plants we grow yield fruits used in our restaurants! We select varieties that offer colour variation at different times of the year. Walking through the zoo is a different experience in spring compared to autumn.

Why did you want to work with plants?

I think one of the things that drew me to into the field of horticulture is that it’s a relatively calming occupation. Being among plants is peaceful. At the same time, our work carries some weight of obligation; we are caring for critically endangered species, and it’s our job to make sure they are propagated and grow.

For example, we have three species of plant from an island on the Madeiran archipelago which barely have a presence in botanical gardens. We’ve been entrusted with seeds by the Madeiran government. One of the species, Musschia isambertoi is on the edge of extinction in the wild. It’s been completely obliterated in its native habitat by the introduced goat population, and we must try and get it to flower to contribute to the conservation project. It’s believed to be pollinated by lizards in the wild, and as far as we know, has never produced seed outside its native habitat before, so there are no set protocols, and we are trying to simulate the conditions you would find on a wild cliff in the Atlantic. It’s quite a responsibility.

Are there any particular areas of the zoo that you particularly like in terms of the plants/gardens there?

My favourites out of the habitats we have created are the area around the Malagasy animals – the lemurs and fossa – and Heart of Africa. I like that we have created something unique. We’re aware we are designing a broad representation of a distant place, somewhere in a very different part of the world, and that’s what interests me the most.

The team works hard to make this possible. They must dig, plant, and prune while experiencing extremes: they can be working in Monsoon Forest in the morning, where it’s hot and humid, and then step outside into freezing British winter weather.

What does a day look like for a plant team member?

There isn’t really a typical working day: each team covers so much that there’s a lot of variety, but one thing that all the teams have in common is an early start. The work begins at 7am, and the mornings are quite intense, as that’s when we do the heavy lifting and planting that just wouldn’t be possible after 10am, when the zoo opens to the public. People do like seeing the gardeners and people stop to chat with us, but a lot of what we do is invisible because it takes place before they arrive!

Check out our gardens on your next visit. Find the Sunken Garden by the giant otters, The Himalayan Garden by the red pandas and snow leopards or explore the winding paths among the tall grasses by Madagascar Play. If it’s a chilly day, step inside Monsoon Forest to keep warm and discover incredible plants growing inside one of the UK’s largest indoor zoological garden habitats.