Tony Kirkham
Encyclopedia
Tony Kirkham is the head of the Arboretum
at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
, where he had worked since 1978. Tony started his life as an apprentice at Tilhill Forestry Nursery in Frensham in 1974. In 1976 he attended Merrist Wood Agricuktural College where he gained his NCH in Arboriculture and the RFS Certificate in Arb. He worked in Germany as a climber for Kusche und Frotscher based in Hamburg. In 1978 he started at Kew as a Diploma student for 3 years where he gained the Kew diploma at honours. In 1981 he was appointed manager of the North Arboretum from where he progressed to become Head of the Arboretum and Horticultural Services in 2001.
In 1985 he was a member of an expedition to Chile collecting seeds for the collections in the arboretum at Kew. Since the destruction of many of Kew's oldest trees in the Great Storm of 1987
he has spearheaded the restocking of the collection. In some instance using specimens collected on collecting trips to the far east
. Countries visited include: China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the Russian far east and Sakalin Island.
Kirkham has an infectious enthusiasm for his subject and is best known for his appearances in the BBC
series 'A Year at Kew' and 'The Trees That Made Britain'. He also lectures to students at Kew as well as other professional & interested groups and is an examiner for the RFS Professional diploma in Arboriculture.
Tony sits on various professional committees, including The RHS woody plant committee and the bursary advisory committee. The IDS Science and education committee and the horticultural advisory board of QuarryHill Botanical Garden in California. He is a trustee of TROBI, the Tree Register Of the British Isles.
Robert Kirkham, Tony's son is following in his father's footsteps by taking part in The Royal Parks apprenticeship, started in 2011. He is currently based at Richmond Park.
Kirkham sits on many professional committees including IDS, science and education committee, RHS, bursaries committee and the woody plant committee, plus many more!
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
, where he had worked since 1978. Tony started his life as an apprentice at Tilhill Forestry Nursery in Frensham in 1974. In 1976 he attended Merrist Wood Agricuktural College where he gained his NCH in Arboriculture and the RFS Certificate in Arb. He worked in Germany as a climber for Kusche und Frotscher based in Hamburg. In 1978 he started at Kew as a Diploma student for 3 years where he gained the Kew diploma at honours. In 1981 he was appointed manager of the North Arboretum from where he progressed to become Head of the Arboretum and Horticultural Services in 2001.
In 1985 he was a member of an expedition to Chile collecting seeds for the collections in the arboretum at Kew. Since the destruction of many of Kew's oldest trees in the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
he has spearheaded the restocking of the collection. In some instance using specimens collected on collecting trips to the far east
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. Countries visited include: China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the Russian far east and Sakalin Island.
Kirkham has an infectious enthusiasm for his subject and is best known for his appearances in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series 'A Year at Kew' and 'The Trees That Made Britain'. He also lectures to students at Kew as well as other professional & interested groups and is an examiner for the RFS Professional diploma in Arboriculture.
Tony sits on various professional committees, including The RHS woody plant committee and the bursary advisory committee. The IDS Science and education committee and the horticultural advisory board of QuarryHill Botanical Garden in California. He is a trustee of TROBI, the Tree Register Of the British Isles.
Robert Kirkham, Tony's son is following in his father's footsteps by taking part in The Royal Parks apprenticeship, started in 2011. He is currently based at Richmond Park.
External links
- "A year at Kew" series page at Kew
- "Trees that made Britain" page at BBC
- http://www.kew.org Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Kirkham sits on many professional committees including IDS, science and education committee, RHS, bursaries committee and the woody plant committee, plus many more!