Herbarium Curator; Engagement

We have an exciting opportunity for a Herbarium Curator (Engagement) to join our supportive and friendly team in the RHS’s 1851 Royal Commission Herbarium, the UK’s largest herbarium dedicated to cultivated plants, located in our new state-of-the-art facilities in the Hilltop building in the garden at Wisley.

The RHS’s herbarium specialises in dried cultivated plant specimens that are documented on a database. The collection comprises c. 101,000 herbarium plant specimens and c. 45,000 photographic slides, prints and paintings, annually increasing by c. 1000 items.

From Roots to Records is a two-year project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund based at RHS Garden Rosemoor.

We are looking to recruit a Herbarium Curator (Engagement) who will be responsible for delivering the RHS’s inclusivity and engagement programme focussed on building representation in horticulture from previously underrepresented groups, at and in the vicinity of RHS Garden Rosemoor. The role will deliver horticultural careers promotion (particularly with a herbarium bias), work experience and engagement activities at and external to the gardens.

It will provide learner support in association with the Science and Collections, Curatorial and School of Horticulture teams to deliver a high quality training experience.

The role will be based at RHS Garden Rosemoor, and will work with the Plant Collector (From Roots to Records project), Curatorial, Education, and Community teams to facilitate engagement with groups in order that a wider range of people enjoy access to the benefits of horticulture and a possible career within the sector.

This is a fixed term post for 2 days per week for 2 years, part-supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

You will have relevant experience of working in an engagement and training environment, be experienced in engaging with underrepresented groups, have a knowledge of plant collecting techniques and scientific plant names and a full driving licence (for undertaking off-site engagement activities). You will be expected to work 3-4 weekends per year.

The RHS has received a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to expand the RHS Herbarium to better represent UK garden plant diversity, focusing on capturing and preserving plants from South-West England.

For the next two years a new team comprising staff and community volunteers will help identify, collect, press and document c. 1,000 priority plants, both from RHS Garden Rosemoor and public gardens and ’Plant Guardians’ across the South-West region.

Our priority will be to capture plants at risk of extinction from climate change or with resilience for a changing environment or of cultural importance. They will be preserved for posterity in the nationally significant Herbarium collection at RHS Garden Wisley, which houses plant specimens from as long ago as 1731 and features samples collected by Charles Darwin on The Beagle.

Through connecting the new specimens to scientific researchers, we’ll deepen understanding of how plants benefit the environment and people’s wellbeing, sharing this knowledge widely. Digitisation of the collected specimens will mean they can be accessed by anyone all over the world.

Local people based in Devon and Cornwall, from school children to adult learners, will play an active role in collecting plants and creating heritage specimens throughout the project, gaining new skills and confidence. A broad range of people will be able to enjoy workshops, talks and public events at RHS Rosemoor, designed to inspire visitors to better understand the special plants in their region and take action to support nature.

Through all this, the project will establish a legacy of benefits for cultivated plant diversity, strengthened community engagement and increased heritage skills – laying the foundation for a national strategy to better preserve cultivated plants and landscapes for future.

The RHS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all personnel to share in this commitment. We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.