From scientific research to public engagement: a selection of our funding around climate change
£1.6 million awarded in Norwich to help secure the future of food
Two world-leading plant science organisations, the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, are joining forces to transform their facilities in Norwich. The ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy People, Healthy Planet’ initiative will invest over £400 million in new laboratories supporting research into sustainable agriculture and plant-derived innovation.
Our funding will be used to equip controlled environment glasshouses, enabling experiments designed to improve the productivity and resilience of vital crops on which humankind depends.
“The challenges of climate change demand a step change in scientific capability. This funding will ensure the UK retains world-leading capability in plant and microbial science.”
Professor Cristóbal Uauy, Director, John Innes Centre
£1.2 million to support the first-of-its-kind net-zero glasshouse in Kew
Palm House Summer 2023 – Ines Stuart-Davidson © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew
The Foundation has awarded £1.2 million towards the restoration of the Palm House at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
The Grade I Victorian glasshouse is a listed building at Kew Gardens in London, which welcomes more than two million visitors each year. The glasshouse is home to over 1,000 tropical plant species.
The renovation will address major structural challenges resulting from the demanding environmental conditions required to sustain the living collection.
Central to the five-year project is transforming this heritage asset into a net-zero glasshouse – a challenge that has never been attempted in a building of its kind before.
Our funding will help ensure that we all continue to benefit from Kew’s research, collections and educational work for years to come.
“Every living thing depends on plants and fungi – when they thrive, we all do. That’s why here at Kew we work to create a world where nature is protected, valued and managed sustainably. Kew’s iconic Palm House inspires conservation action and protects our living collections, and for the first time we are able to safeguard this sustainably for future generations.”
Richard Deverell, Director, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Read more about the grants in our summer funding round: nearly sixty years of supporting end of life care.
Top image: glasshouse corridor, credit John Innes Centre.
Other projects tackling climate change in this round
- Durham University has been awarded £500,000 to fund specialist imaging equipment to identify heritage and archaeological remains at risk of degradation from climate change. The equipment will also be used to analyse ancient diets to see whether dietary patterns from the past can inform the development of crops suited to exceptionally dry climates today.
- £1.5 million has been awarded to the University of Warwick towards a state-of-the-art electron microscope that will enable research into the study and characterisation of materials used in batteries, fuel cells and energy storage systems – technologies that are central to the global transition towards sustainable energy.
- A high proportion of funding in this round supports the renovation and repurposing of buildings, including heritage buildings. For example, £200,000 has been awarded to Sinfonia Smith Square for the restoration of its more than 300-year-old Smith Square Hall. Reusing an existing building can avoid up to 75 per cent of the environmental impacts associated with a new build (Historic England).
