Electronic Precinct - July 1999

Busy Summer for Ness

The splendid displays of rhododendrons and azaleas at Ness Botanic Gardens in the Spring and early Summer may always be very popular with visitors, but this year has seen some interesting new developments, some of which may well have gone largely unnoticed by the visiting public. The Gardens, which were given to the University in 1948, attract over 120,000 visitors a year and are also an important research centre for the School of Biological Sciences.

Flowers and Festivals

One special feature this year that could hardly have been missed by those who visited the arid house in May, was the Puya flower, featured on the front cover of this edition of PRECINCT. In June, the now traditional Garden Festival proved more popular with visitors than ever before, helped greatly, no doubt, by the good weather. Over the three days of the Festival, well over 12,000 visitors had the opportunity of seeing not only the Gardens, but a whole host of displays and stalls. In addition to the many horticultural stands, were others with country crafts and fine foods and displays on to pics such as the work of the local owl sanctuary and various wildlife groups. The whole event was run to a very high standard, and a survey of the visitors showed that they greatly enjoyed the experience. But such an event does not happen by itself, and it was thanks to the very hard work of all th e staff and over 100 volunteers, that the three days went off without a hitch. Planning is already underway for the next event in June 2000!

Events this summer included a concert in June, attended by 2,200 people, and three outdoor performances in July and August - 'The Three Musketeers', 'The Wind in the Willows' and 'The Tempest'.

Landfill Tax

Maintaining the gardens at Ness is a costly business, and help has to be drawn from many sources to help the operation pay its way. Arthur Kilpin Bulley, the social reformer of the nineteenth century, who created the Gardens at Ness over 100 years ago, would probably have been intrigued and delight ed to hear the latest such source - a new government tax imposed to help the environment.

In an effort to reduce the use of landfill for the disposal of waste, every tonne that is tipped into one of the many landfill sites around the country now attracts a tax levy. Part of that tax can be used to support environmental projects and Ness has recently been successful in attracting grants of over £75,000 from that source. The money is being used for a range of projects, including support for a major research project on global warming and some infrastructure work on one of the main access roads.

The funding is also being used to help meet the cost of a study looking at future development options for the Gardens.