The Garden has an internationally important plant collection, including many rare and threatened local plants. It provides a valuable resource for research materials, projects and activities with students and staff from all Faculties benefiting from its presence. In short, the University of Bristol Botanic Garden provides a place of inspiration, education, research and rejuvenation for university staff and students, along with many thousands of members of the public.   

The mission of the Botanic Garden is to: 

• To provide plants, advice and assistance for teaching and research within the University of Bristol.  
• To be accessible to students, educational and scientific organisations, and the general public.  
• To educate in multiple domains, e.g. our dependency on the continued survival of the world’s plant resources for food, shelter, clothes and culture.  
• Maintain a diverse, named and professionally curated living collection of plants, these being a unique and important component of a global collection of plant species.  

For a more detailed account of the Botanic Garden, please see: Strategic Plan: University of Bristol Botanic Garden LINK HERE

Opportunities for teaching & learning in the Botanic Garden 

The Botanic Garden provides a living laboratory and outdoor learning space for students throughout the University. To find out more about what this involves, please click here! 

If you are interested in using the Botanic Garden for teaching & learning, please fill out this form and email it to sci-director-botanic-gardens@bristol.ac.uk.

Opportunities for research in the Botanic Garden 

The Botanic Garden is keen to support research projects by providing:  

• A reference collection of living plants for research. 
• The largest collection of Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs in Europe and ongoing links with the Registry of Chinese Herbal Medicine.  
• A convenient field site for collecting a wide variety of species other than plants, for example aquatic invertebrates from the ponds, pollinators and as a field site for observing small mammal and birds. 
• Outreach opportunities for interacting with the general public, via for example the Pollination Festival or Fascination of Plants Day. 

If you are interested in using the Botanic Garden for research, please fill out this form and email it to sci-director-botanic-gardens@bristol.ac.uk.  

Opportunities for Outreach & Volunteering in the Botanic Garden 

There is a regular calendar of events at the Gardens, starting with the Sculpture Festival at Easter, the Festival of Plants in the early summer and the Pollination Festival in September. These attract a substantial number of visitors and provide a good occasion to showcase research. Other, more bespoke events are possible too, for example the Bristol Vision Institute worked with Sculptor Luke Jerram to run a five month long exhibition of sculptures at the Botanic Gardens.

To find out more about the possibilities for outreach or to start planning an event, please fill out this form and email it to sci-director-botanic-gardens@bristol.ac.uk.