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Treborth Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
Treborth Botanic Garden is a botanic garden in Wales
, close to the city of Bangor, Gwynedd
. It is owned by Bangor University
, and is used in teaching for University students, local schools and community groups. It is also open to the public without charge.
It is unusual in having within the garden a large area of native established broad-leaved woodland
bounded to the north by the seashore
of the Menai Strait
Company in the 1840s. The grounds were designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, and features of his design can be see today, such as the lime avenue. However, due to a funding crisis the site was abandoned and reverted to pasture and woodland. Funding crises were to become a feature of the sites subsequent history.
In 1960, the then University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) bought the land with the aim of developing it into a collection of plants for the University's Department of Botany. When the Department of Botany closed, the Garden continued to be used by other departments within the University for teaching, in particular for environmental courses.
In recent years, Treborth Botanic Garden has come under threat of closure by Bangor University due to high maintenance costs, but this threat has been largely countered by the Friends of Treborth Botanic Garden, a volunteer group with charitable status that helps in the day-to-day running of the Garden, and the Students for Treborth Action Group (STAG), a Bangor University Students' Union society formed to safeguard the Garden for use by the students and population of Bangor.
Treborth Botanic Garden is twinned with Katse Alpine Botanic Garden in Lesotho
.
Treborth Botanic Garden has six glasshouse
s and a teaching laboratory
with associated offices for the use of the curator and the volunteers in the main building complex. The Temperate Glasshouse features cacti, succulents, South Africa
n native plants and Canary Island native plants. The Tropical Glasshouse houses a variety of plants from the tropics including banana
cultivars. The Orchid House and Bubble House contain the collections of orchids and carnivorous plant
s. Other glasshouses are used to house tender species from temperate zones, Welsh native flora, and for propagation and storage. The teaching lab doubles as a welcome area for visitors. A car park is situated outside the main building complex.
Outdoor
Away from the main buildings, Treborth features the largest rhizotron
in Europe, a pigeon loft and meteorological recording
equipment in a research compound . The garden has extensive outdoor grounds which extend all the way down to the shore of the Menai Strait. The grounds feature a half-acidic, half-basic rock garden, orchard and wildflower meadows alongside traditional outdoor planting. The majority of the grounds are woodlands designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
As part of special 50th Anniversary celebrations, which started with the annual musical fundraising festival Botanical Beats, a new wildlife pond was created and opened in June 2010.
Access to the garden is by a long private road, which is the left turn directly before crossing the Menai Suspension Bridge
Anglesey
-bound.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, close to the city of Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
. It is owned by Bangor University
Bangor University
Bangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
, and is used in teaching for University students, local schools and community groups. It is also open to the public without charge.
It is unusual in having within the garden a large area of native established broad-leaved woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
bounded to the north by the seashore
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
of the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
History of the Garden
The current site was originally developed as a Victorian tourist destination, Britannia Park, by the Chester and Holyhead RailwayChester and Holyhead Railway
The Chester and Holyhead Railway was incorporated out of a proposal to link Holyhead, the traditional port for the Irish Mail, with London by way of the existing Chester and Crewe Railway, and what is now the West Coast Main Line...
Company in the 1840s. The grounds were designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, and features of his design can be see today, such as the lime avenue. However, due to a funding crisis the site was abandoned and reverted to pasture and woodland. Funding crises were to become a feature of the sites subsequent history.
In 1960, the then University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) bought the land with the aim of developing it into a collection of plants for the University's Department of Botany. When the Department of Botany closed, the Garden continued to be used by other departments within the University for teaching, in particular for environmental courses.
In recent years, Treborth Botanic Garden has come under threat of closure by Bangor University due to high maintenance costs, but this threat has been largely countered by the Friends of Treborth Botanic Garden, a volunteer group with charitable status that helps in the day-to-day running of the Garden, and the Students for Treborth Action Group (STAG), a Bangor University Students' Union society formed to safeguard the Garden for use by the students and population of Bangor.
Treborth Botanic Garden is twinned with Katse Alpine Botanic Garden in Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
.
Facilities and Collections
IndoorTreborth Botanic Garden has six glasshouse
Glasshouse
Glasshouse or Glasshouses may refer to:*Greenhouse, a building where plants are cultivated*Glasshouse , a 2006 novel by Charles Stross*Glasshouse , term for a military prison in the British Army...
s and a teaching laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
with associated offices for the use of the curator and the volunteers in the main building complex. The Temperate Glasshouse features cacti, succulents, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n native plants and Canary Island native plants. The Tropical Glasshouse houses a variety of plants from the tropics including banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
cultivars. The Orchid House and Bubble House contain the collections of orchids and carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
s. Other glasshouses are used to house tender species from temperate zones, Welsh native flora, and for propagation and storage. The teaching lab doubles as a welcome area for visitors. A car park is situated outside the main building complex.
Outdoor
Away from the main buildings, Treborth features the largest rhizotron
Rhizotron
A Rhizotron is a laboratory constructed underground in order to study the soil and its interactions with plants and animals. Typically equipped with a central corridor with viewing windows into the soil profiles on either side...
in Europe, a pigeon loft and meteorological recording
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
equipment in a research compound . The garden has extensive outdoor grounds which extend all the way down to the shore of the Menai Strait. The grounds feature a half-acidic, half-basic rock garden, orchard and wildflower meadows alongside traditional outdoor planting. The majority of the grounds are woodlands designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
As part of special 50th Anniversary celebrations, which started with the annual musical fundraising festival Botanical Beats, a new wildlife pond was created and opened in June 2010.
Access to the public
The outdoor grounds are open to the public all year round. Treborth is one of the only botanic gardens in the United Kingdom that allows dogs, providing they are kept on a leash. The public are also allowed access to the glasshouses by appointment with the curator.Access to the garden is by a long private road, which is the left turn directly before crossing the Menai Suspension Bridge
Menai Suspension Bridge
The Menai Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the first modern suspension bridge in the world.-Construction:...
Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
-bound.