Category Archives: Annual Fund

The Nigerian Field Society

On Saturday 4th July we welcomed the Nigerian Field Society UK branch to the Tropical Glasshouse.  This was an especially interesting visit for me because many of the visitors had far more experience of tropical biodiversity, and particularly tropical botany … Continue reading

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One year since planting

This gallery contains 8 photos.

While it’s impossible to give a single date for the planing of the tropical greenhouse the bulk of the work was done in August 2012.  Photographs taken last August show small plants and some empty beds awaiting planting.  Photos taken … Continue reading

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Thank you from Aldryngton

This gallery contains 20 photos.

This week I received a series of letters from some of the Aldryngton pupils that visited the tropical biodiversity glasshouse.  Thank you all for writing such nice letters and for adding such good pictures!  I’ve posted your letters (with your … Continue reading

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A Visit from Aldryngton Primary School

On 26th June the University Tropical Biodiversity glasshouse hosted a visit of 90 pupils from Aldryngton Primary School.  This was the first official school visit we have hosted since the refurbishment of the glasshouse.  Mrs Dunn from Aldryngton was the … Continue reading

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Community Open Event May 2013

On Monday 20th May we held what might be considered the official opening of the Tropical Biodiversity Glasshouse.  The University of Reading community open event provided a means for both the Harris Garden and our greenhouse to be shown to … Continue reading

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University of Reading Community Open Event, Monday 20 May 2013, Harris Garden & Tropical Glasshouse, Whiteknights campus

Programme 1800 Arrivals and refreshments (Guests are requested to enter the University via the Pepper Lane entrance and follow signs to car park 13. The entrance to the Harris Garden will be signposted.)  Refreshments will be served upon arrival in … Continue reading

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10000 views reached on 30 April 2013

This blog was originally established to report on developments during our tropical glasshouse refurbishment, paid for by the Annual Fund, however it has proved popular and received a steady stream of readers.  On 30th April 2013 we reached the 10-thousandth … Continue reading

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Thank you Annual Fund – Year 1 ends this month!

The first year of development of the Tropical Glasshouse project has been supported by a grant of £7000 from the University Annual Fund,  a fund built from donor contributions.  In May/June 2011 I submitted a proposal along with Liz Williamson … Continue reading

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The first sign of madness….

At school one of the playground sayings was “The first sign of madness is talking to yourself”. This is obviously deeply entrenched in my psyche because I began to fear that blogging was possibly a sophisticated way of talking to … Continue reading

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Ginger – Zingiber officinale

Earlier in the spring (February) we planted some supermarket ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale) to establish new ginger plants for the tropical greenhouse. These have not only established very well but are now in full flower.

Posted in Annual Fund, Crops, Species | 5 Comments