Who we are, what we do…in the UK
Plantlife is the only charity working solely to protect Britain’s wild flowers and plants, fungi and lichens, and the habitats in which they are found
We were established in 1989 after a meeting of conservationists and botanists, led by Professor David Bellamy, called for a new organisation, an 'RSPB for plants', to champion wild plant conservation. Today, Plantlife is the leading charity working to protect wild plants and their habitats with national offices in England, Scotland and Wales. HRH The Prince of Wales is our Patron and Adrian Darby OBE our President.
Our plants, our planet
The wild flowers and plants that give the UK its unique character, from our woodland and meadows to our uplands and coastline, are under tremendous pressure from intensive farming, habitat destruction, invasive plants from overseas, over-grazing, climate change and pollution. A third of all plants worldwide are under threat and a report last year confirmed that a staggering one in five of Britain’s wild plants is threatened with extinction.
Whilst preserving wild plants in botanical gardens or in seed banks is an important last resort, it is no substitute for their wild and natural existence as an integral part of the countryside. Plantlife identifies and conserves sites of exceptional botanical importance, rescues wild plants on the brink of extinction and works to ensure that common plants don’t become rare in the wild. We are a Lead Partner in the Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan (which targets the UK’s Priority Species and Habitats for conservation action) and are responsible for conserving over 100 of the UK’s most threatened plants and fungi. We do this by:
- Carrying out practical conservation work at hundreds of mostly unprotected sites across the UK through our Back from the Brink conservation programme
- Managing 4,500 acres of rare and important plant habitat as nature reserves
- Influencing key national policies and legislation relevant to plant conservation
- Involving both members and non-members in many aspects of our work, and collaborating widely to promote wild plant conservation
- Commissioning key research and publishing reports
- Getting the message across through newspaper, TV, magazine and radio features that plants are enchanting, endlessly fascinating and, above all, fundamental to the health of our countryside - and us
As the UK’s only membership charity dedicated to the conservation of wild plants, we encourage everyone to become a member of Plantlife. Your support helps us to get the message across that the UK’s flora is, quite simply, the bedrock upon which all our wildlife rests.
International
Plantlife has a dynamic international team working to safeguard wild plants and their habitats. We are one of the key organisations that developed the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, which was endorsed by governments across the world, including the British Government, at The Hague in 2002. The strategy underpins all our activities. We are Lead Partner of Target 5 and head the global effort to identify the world's most important sites for wild plants.
Plantlife International's Plants & Livelihoods Programme promotes the sustainable use of medicinal wild plants across the Himalayas, east Africa and south-east Europe and Plantlife also hosts the secretariat for Planta Europa, the pan-European network of over 60 organisations working for plant conservation. To read more about our international programme click here.
