Autumn Colour and High Adventure at Treehouse Towers - a new outdoor play area unveiled
in Kew’s 250th year
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG
Kew) celebrates its 250th anniversary with a season of colour and the opening of
Treehouse Towers – a new outdoor play area for kids to enjoy this autumn.
Take a guided walk through the majestic Arboretum coloured with exquisite reds,
browns and burnt oranges. Climb 18m high to the top of the Xstrata Treetop Walkway
for stunning vistas across Kew’s heritage landscape; see the inner workings of Kew
with fascinating behind the scenes tours; find out just why the rainforests are
so important to us all at the Focus on the Rainforest exhibition; and enjoy
a whirlwind of fun with Kew’s half-term activities.
Treehouse Towers, RBG Kew’s new outdoor play area opens...
From October half term, Treehouse Towers, Kew’s brand new tree-themed outdoor play
area supported by Velvet will be unveiled for up to 300 young adventurers to enjoy
at any one time. Located out side Climbers and Creepers, Kew’s indoor botanical
play zone, Treehouse Towers will allow kids to climb up ladders, clamber across
rope bridges and slide their way down from the three towers. Each one varies in
height and as children scale between them; they’ll find each one more of a challenge.
The area will feature giant swings, zip wires, scramble nets, slides and a mountaineering
ramp, for families to enjoy, whilst also offering educational opportunities for
children to learn about and appreciate trees.
Suitable for kids aged from 3 - 11, Treehouse Towers is being funded by Velvet family
toilet roll who have ensured that all elements of the play area are created from
FSC certified wood, tying in with their ‘three trees’ initiative, where three trees
are replanted for every one used.
250 new trees, including the biggest trees in the world, for 250 years...
Kew offers visitors a unique view of beautiful autumn colour from the top of the
18m high Xstrata Treetop Walkway. The 200m long Walkway runs through the tree canopy,
giving visitors the experience of walking in the tree tops among sweet chestnuts,
limes and deciduous oaks, and offering views across Kew’s extensive Arboretum and
the Gardens to London’s skyline.
Kew Gardens is home to an enchanting variety of over 14,000 trees: a unique mix
of the rare, ancient, useful and beautiful. And 250 new trees, including six trees
to represent the biggest trees from each continent in the world, have been added
to the collection in its 250th year. Two trees were also recently planted by HM
the Queen, a Gingko biloba, and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, a Wollemi pine.
Tony Kirkham, Head of Kew’s Arboretum, says, “This year the Gardens are looking
spectacular, and with 250 new trees growing, there is no better time to visit Kew!
Vivid displays of northern red oaks, sweetgums and roble beeches are just some of
the magnificent trees to be seen. It is a privilege to celebrate the history of
Kew’s amazing tree collection this year, and to continue to maintain and develop
Kew’s wonderful heritage landscape and Arboretum for the next 250 years.”
Tales amongst the trees (11am, 1pm and 2,30pm, Saturday and Sundays in October)
Come and join one of the free tree-themed storytelling sessions, to hear dramatic
tales about the trees you pass. Taking a circuit from beneath the Xstrata Treetop
Walkway each session visitors can tour the trees hearing dramatic tales. Tickets
are required and can be booked on the day at any gate
Self-guided Bark Trails (3 October to 1 November 2009)
Explore Kew’s trees on a self-guided ‘Bark Trail’. Collect the ‘Bark Essentials’
leaflet at the gates and learn about the role of bark in protecting trees, and its
uses in medicines and textiles. A self-guided ‘Seed Search Thinking Walk’, inspired
by the thinking walks that helped the great scientist Charles Darwin shape his theories
and ideas, will enable younger visitors to learn about the way plants disperse their
seeds.
Half term autumn fun (24 October to 1 November 2009)
There is as much fun as there is colour to be had this half term at Kew Gardens.
- RBG Kew will be taking part in the Big Draw, with tree themed drawing activities
and artists paired up with Kew scientists, working on projects in the Gardens (11am
to 3pm everyday, 24 October to 1 November 2009).
- Give wood carving a go at the daily carving workshops, suitable for most ages. Places
are limited and are first come first serve. (Sessions at 10am, 11.15am, 1.15am and
2.30pm for an hour, 24 October to 1 November 2009)
- Climbers and Creepers, Kew’s indoor botanical play area, will be hosting free seasonal
arts and crafts activities, allowing kids to get creative while learning about the
importance of trees.
- In half-term week and every weekend in October children can get their faces painted
with tree and leaf inspired designs.
Tour the Tapestry of Trees (3 October to 1 November 2009)
Join free daily guided tours exploring the Arboretum and discover its ever-changing
tapestry of autumn foliage with Kew’s knowledgeable guides. Learn about Kew’s rich
history and heritage through the stories of its trees; including the Gardens oldest
residents, the 300 year old sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa) and Kew’s ‘Old Lions’.
Check www.kew.org for details.
Focus on the Rainforest at The Prince’s Rainforests Project and Sony exhibition,
(Nash Conservatory, 3 October to 6 December 2009)
A stunning, professional photographic and interactive exhibition using the latest
technology from Sony brings the rainforest to life at Kew Gardens. Showcasing the
results of The Prince’s Rainforests Project Award category in this year’s Sony World
Photography Awards, the exhibition is a powerful depiction of the threat deforestation
is placing on our climate, biodiversity and rainforest-dependent people through
photos, videos and sounds. The award-winning photographer, Daniel Beltrá, is travelling
to the world’s most endangered rainforests in the Amazon, Indonesia and the Congo
to capture the devastating impacts of deforestation, as well as the beauty of the
remaining rainforests. Sony is supporting the exhibition with the PRP as one of
its many initiatives to protect the world for the next generation.
Marianne North Gallery re-opens (Sunday 11 October, 2009)
The restored Marianne North Gallery reopens with a special day long community celebration,
filled with dance, food, and special guided tours – an autumnal highlight in the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s 250th anniversary year. A hidden gem in Kew Gardens’
300 acre site, the Gallery and its paintings are being dramatically renovated and
conserved, safeguarding its rich heritage for the future.
For more information please see
www.kew.org/press/marianne_north_2009.html
The Art of Plant Evolution Exhibition
(The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, to end December 2009)
Art meets science in an exhibition of botanical paintings from The Shirley Sherwood
Collection, arranged in the latest evolutionary sequence, determined by recent DNA
analysis. Not only is botanical art undergoing a renaissance today but recent genetic
discoveries have changed the nomenclature and evolutionary sequence of many plants
during the last ten years.
Each species chosen is illustrated with a painting selected from over 700 contemporary
works in The Shirley Sherwood Collection. The 136 paintings by 84 artists cover
50 orders of plants in 118 families for a total of 133 species, providing a sweeping
overview of the evolution of plants on earth. Tree paintings featured include cycads,
cedars, firs and ginkgos. For more information see:
www.kew.org/press/art2009.html