Advolly Richmond is exploring how food production methods and climate change today are exacerbating issues of biodiversity loss. As conditions change and human activity intervenes with environments, entire ecosystems are thrown out of balance, and the consequences for species are dire.

We could be losing plants and species science hasn’t even named, all due to harmful agricultural practises and accelerating climate change.

But Kew scientists and partners around the world are working to conserve species before it’s too late, by seeking out their wild relatives that have properties that can withstand the conditions of the future.

We travel from the mountains of Sierra Leone to track down a rare but resilient wild coffee variety, to deep underground in rural Sussex, where Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank is conserving the world’s seeds for future science at Wakehurst. Dr Elinor Breman gives us a tour of this biodiverse bunker, and her colleague Dr Aisyah Faruk explains her work tracking down wild relatives of fruit and nut species in Georgia and Armenia.

But it’s not just about finding alternative crops, as food journalist Dan Saladino explains: crop monocultures are leaving foods and ecosystems vulnerable to pests and disease.

Meanwhile Dr Caspar Chater is in Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden, ready to explain how a more diverse approach to what we eat can help save the world, and Professor Phil Stevenson tells us about his work with pollinators, the critical species that make so much of food production possible.

Advolly Richmond is exploring how food production methods and climate change today are exacerbating issues of biodiversity loss. As conditions change and human activity intervenes with environments, entire ecosystems are thrown out of balance, and the consequences for species are dire.
We could be losing plants and species science hasn’t even named, all due to harmful agricultural practises and accelerating climate change.
But Kew scientists and partners around the world are working to conserve species before it’s too late, by seeking out their wild relatives that have properties that can withstand the conditions of the future.
We travel from the mountains of Sierra Leone to track down a rare but resilient wild coffee variety, to deep underground in rural Sussex, where Kew’s <a href="https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-at-wakehurst/millennium-seed-bank">Millennium Seed Bank</a> is conserving the world’s seeds for future science at <a href="https://twitter.com/wakehurst_kew">Wakehurst.</a> Dr Elinor Breman gives us a tour of this biodiverse bunker, and her colleague Dr Aisyah Faruk explains her work tracking down wild relatives of fruit and nut species in Georgia and Armenia.
But it’s not just about finding alternative crops, as food journalist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dan.saladino/?hl=en">Dan Saladino</a> explains: crop monocultures are leaving foods and ecosystems vulnerable to pests and disease.
Meanwhile Dr Caspar Chater is in Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden, ready to explain how a more diverse approach to what we eat can help save the world, and Professor Phil Stevenson tells us about his work with pollinators, the critical species that make so much of food production possible.

Wildlife is becoming extinct at an alarming rate and habitats are under strain. What can nature itself teach us about how to heal our planet and support biodiversity?

In Unearthed, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew invites you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our world for the better.

Series 3 “Unearthed: Nature needs us”, takes us on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the tangle of nature’s systems and interactions to help us tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Dr Mya-Rose Craig (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew experts, as well as communities and organisations across the world who are combining learnings in science, wildlife, conservation and restoration to work within the bounds of nature and help halt the devastating impacts of unsustainable human activity.

From farming practises and food production to land use, pollinators, traditional techniques, tech and forestry to tackling poverty and inequality through environmental policy, join us as we untangle the secrets of nature and seek solutions to our world’s problems.

Subscribe to all episodes and catch up on earlier series of Unearthed from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on this feed.

Wildlife is becoming extinct at an alarming rate and habitats are under strain. What can nature itself teach us about how to heal our planet and support biodiversity?
In Unearthed, the Royal <a href="https://www.kew.org/">Botanic Gardens Kew</a> invites you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our world for the better.
Series 3 “Unearthed: Nature needs us”, takes us on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the tangle of nature’s systems and interactions to help us tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
<a href="https://www.birdgirluk.com/">Dr Mya-Rose Craig</a> (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew experts, as well as communities and organisations across the world who are combining learnings in science, wildlife, conservation and restoration to work within the bounds of nature and help halt the devastating impacts of unsustainable human activity.
From farming practises and food production to land use, pollinators, traditional techniques, tech and forestry to tackling poverty and inequality through environmental policy, join us as we untangle the secrets of nature and seek solutions to our world’s problems.
Subscribe to all episodes and catch up on earlier series of Unearthed from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on this feed.

Unearthed - Nature needs us

Wildlife is becoming extinct at an alarming rate and habitats are under strain. What can nature itself teach us about how to heal our planet and support biodiversity?

In Unearthed, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew invites you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our world for the better.

Series 3 “Unearthed: Nature needs us”, takes us on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the tangle of nature’s systems and interactions to help us tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Dr Mya-Rose Craig (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew experts, as well as communities and organisations across the world who are combining learnings in science, wildlife, conservation and restoration to work within the bounds of nature and help halt the devastating impacts of unsustainable human activity.

From farming practises and food production to land use, pollinators, traditional techniques, tech and forestry to tackling poverty and inequality through environmental policy, join us as we untangle the secrets of nature and seek solutions to our world’s problems.

Subscribe to all episodes and catch up on earlier series of Unearthed from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on this feed.

Wildlife is becoming extinct at an alarming rate and habitats are under strain. What can nature itself teach us about how to heal our planet and support biodiversity?
In Unearthed, the Royal <a href="https://www.kew.org/">Botanic Gardens, Kew</a> invites you to explore how plant and fungal knowledge can be harnessed to change our world for the better.
Series 3 “Unearthed: Nature needs us”, takes us on a journey from soil to sky, scaling the tangle of nature’s systems and interactions to help us tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
<a href="https://www.birdgirluk.com/">Dr Mya-Rose Craig</a> (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew experts, as well as communities and organisations across the world who are combining learnings in science, wildlife, conservation and restoration to work within the bounds of nature and help halt the devastating impacts of unsustainable human activity.
From farming practises and food production to land use, pollinators, traditional techniques, tech and forestry to tackling poverty and inequality through environmental policy, join us as we untangle the secrets of nature and seek solutions to our world’s problems.
Subscribe to all episodes and catch up on earlier series of Unearthed from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on this feed.

Advertisement