The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Raising plant awareness
Dundee-born Simon Milne has been announced as the 16th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The green-fingered former Marine told Jack McKeown about his growing love of nature
THE GIANT panda. The Amur leopard. The Siberian tiger. Heard of these? Of course you have. How about the western prairie fringe orchard? The rafflesia flower? Or the Georgia astor?
“It is true that people have all heard of the world’s most endangered animal species but not nearly everyone is aware of the world’s most endangered plant species,” explains Simon Milne.
“Yet plants do so much to enrich our lives and the world. They give us diversity, they lock up carbon and they’re vital for medicine. Somewhere in the region of a quarter to a third of the world’s plant species are endangered. We ignore them at our peril.”
The next Regius Keeper – a Royal title that is the equivalent of chief executive in other organisations – of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will be making it his mission to raise the profile of many of the world’s rarest and most special plants.
Simon was born in Broughty Ferry and his father was a farmer in Perthshire. He studied at Perth Academy, then the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1979 with a degree in geography and botany.
He immediately went into the Royal Marines. His 20-year military career saw him deployed in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Arctic and the jungles of Brunei and Belize.
“I loved being in the jungle,” he says. “There is a lot of sitting around waiting in the marines and that allowed me to indulge my passion for wildlife and wild places.”
Simon was awarded the MBE in 1996 and invalided out of the Royal Marines in 2000. Married with three children, he lives near Arbroath.
His first job in horticulture was with the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Hampshire, home to the world’s largest collection of hardy trees and shrubs.
Since 2004 he has been chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. His near decadelong tenure has seen him oversee one of the biggest landscape restoration projects ever attempted in the UK, and Scotland’s first mammal reintroduction.
“The beaver reintroduction at Knapdale is probably the major project during my time at the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
“We’re monitoring the project and we have huge amounts of data still to analyse but from where I’m sitting it’s been quite successful.
“We’ve also helped facilitate one of the biggest conservation restoration projects ever attempted in the UK, in Coigach and Assynt, in the north west Highlands, which involved bringing together 12 landowners and other agencies.”
The beaver project has led to a renewed interest in the restoration of Scotland’s once indigenous species. The sea eagle was reintroduced in 2007, and two birds released in 2009 have successfully raised a male chick in Fife.
The next high-profile project – although it is one that is yet to reach fruition – is millionaire MFI heir Paul Lister’s scheme to have wolves roam a 50,000-acre fenced enclosure in the Highlands.
“I welcome the debate on species reintroduction,” says Simon. “I think that each individual species should be looked at on its own merit. Personally, I don’t think we will see the return of the wolf to Scotland in my lifetime – the two opposition points are public perception and sheep – but I think the lynx could be a viable option for reintroduction.”
In February, Simon will take up his new post as the Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, succeeding Professor Stephen Blackmore.
Many of us will have strolled through the leafy, biodiverse grounds of the botanic garden without realising how big an organisation it is.
It has a turnover of £11.5 million and employs in the region of 230 staff.
As well as the Edinburgh site, there are four other Royal Botanic Gardens in Scotland, in Benmore, Logan and Dawyck.
“We also have a presence in around 80 countries across the world, primarily engaged in research into plant evolution and conservation,” Simon explains. “It’s a truly global organisation.
“My first job will be to get a handle on all the many programmes we’re involved with.
“Then I’ll be making sure all our aspirations and ambitions are being met and doing as much to improve public awareness and education as I can.”
Remarkably, only 15 people have held the position of Regius Keeper since 1699 – working out at almost 21 years per incumbent. At 54 years old, Simon will have to stay in post until he’s 75 just to put in an average shift.
He chuckles: “It is a bit of an ask. But with modern medicine going the way it is, not to mention the retirement age being pushed back, maybe I will still be in the job then.”