2024/25: A Landmark Year for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
In the year to March 2025, over 2.7 million people visited Kew Gardens and Wakehurst– engaging with nature through horticulture, science, education and the arts.
We made significant strides towards our mission to understand and protect plants and fungi for the wellbeing of people and the planet. From groundbreaking research and global partnerships to inclusive public programmes and influencing policy and opinion, Kew continues to lead the way in nature recovery.
Discover more about the progress we've made towards meeting our Manifesto for Change commitments over the last year.
1. Delivering science-based knowledge and solutions to protect biodiversity and use natural resources sustainably
We are meeting our commitments by working with partners to identify and protect plants and fungi globally, advise on conservation and restoration projects, and reveal species that could yield new foods, medicines, fuels or materials – as well as support local livelihoods and sustainable development.
Giving the world online access to five million Kew specimens
We made more than five million of our preserved plant and fungal specimens available to researchers around the world through our new online data portal.
Developing a method to identify which plants mosquitoes feed from, helping to tackle malaria
New research from Kew reveals how identifying and removing plants that mosquitoes feed on could help reduce the spread of deadly diseases like malaria—offering a fresh angle in the fight against vector-borne illness.
Research offers hope for tastier coffee in a warming world
A forgotten coffee species that Kew helped to track down could help safeguard grower's livelihoods, as well as guaranteeing the morning pick-me up of billions.
2. Inspiring people to protect the natural world
We are meeting our Priority 2 commitments by engaging diverse audiences to become advocates for nature through access to our gardens, knowledge and expertise.
Spotlight on rare plants and their guardians
The autumn 2024 exhibition Rare and Extinct afforded visitors a chance to see species usually hidden from sight in Kew’s Tropical Nursery.
Ambitious Palm House renovation gets under way
Work began on a major renovation of the Palm House and the Waterlily House, with the aim of transforming these iconic buildings into cutting-edge, net-zero glasshouses.
Dramatic artworks at Marc Quinn's Light into Life
Leading contemporary artist Marc Quinn worked closely with Kew scientists and horticulturists to create more than 20 new works including huge mirrored stainless steel sculptures of medicinal plants.
3. Training the next generation of experts
With the world needing brilliant scientists and horticulturists now and in the future, we are meeting our Priority 3 commitments by training students from the UK and around the world.
Thousands of teachers join Kew’s Endeavour platform to teach plant science
Even schools that cannot visit Kew Gardens or Wakehurst can benefit from our wealth of botanical learning resources thanks to our online interactive library of teaching resources, Endeavour.
Horticulture training goes from strength to strength
With growing demand for Kew training, reflecting an increased interest in careers in horticulture, we developed a new School of Horticulture Strategy
Postgraduate programmes prove popular
Covering themes of plant and fungal taxonomy, biodiversity, conservation, sustainability and food security, the courses are run through partnerships with Queen Mary University of London, and Royal Holloway, University of London.
4. Extending our reach
Kew is a public body and exempt charity with global collections and influence. We are meeting our Priority 4 commitments by attracting new audiences to our Gardens, and making our resources accessible to everyone, disseminating our knowledge and collections both physically and digitally for the world’s benefit.
RBG Kew Youth Council established
In March 2025, 13 young people aged 17 to 25 were appointed as members of our inaugural Youth Council.
Awareness of Wakehurst’s work boosted by new Ambassadors
Actor and environmental advocate Cate Blanchett was among three inaugural Wakehurst Ambassadors appointed.
100,000 milestone reached in £1 ticket sales
In July 2024 we celebrated having sold 100,000 £1 Kew Gardens entry tickets, a milestone in our efforts to remove economic barriers to accessing the Gardens.
5. Shaping national and international opinion, policy and practice
To meet our Policy 5 commitments, our experts are shaping debates and providing evidence and expert advice to inform decision-making, policy and practice. We continue to convene diverse, high-level audiences, and to curate events and visits to explore the environmental crises.
Kew hosts new Foreign Secretary David Lammy
Foreign Secretary David Lammy chose Kew for the location of his first major speech in the UK on foreign policy, after the Labour Party entered government in 2024. The event, which has become known as ‘the Kew Lecture’, continues to be quoted across the UK Government and beyond.
Cameroonian activist wins Kew International medal for supporting women in forest communities
Cameroonian activist Dr Cécile Ndjebet became the 17th recipient of the Kew International Medal, for her work campaigning to preserve forests and improve the lives of people who depend on them in Cameroon and across Africa.
Safeguarding trees against climate change at Kew and in urban areas
In 2024, Kew Gardens became the first botanic garden in the UK to produce a plan for future-proofing its living collections: ‘Planting for the Future: Kew’s Landscape Succession Plan’