Tool to assess climate resilient gardens in development

Tool to assess climate resilient gardens in development

Professional gardeners are being invited to test and help develop a new tool which will assess climate resilience in gardens and landscapes.

The tool intends to help identify climate risks and inform monitoring, planting, replacement and plant-sharing decisions to safeguard important collections.

The Garden Climate Assessment Tool (GCAT), developed with Botanic Gardens Conservation International, builds on the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens Climate Assessment Tool.

Adapted to UK gardens and landscapes, the GCAT covers trees and other plants, including named garden varieties, and brings together research, gardening knowledge and records from partners’ plant collections. Data from 289 gardens, covering 80,650 plant types, has already been assessed, while the tool currently contains records for more than 100,000 taxa.

Future of National Gardens Group (FNGG) are inviting both gardeners and other horticulturalists to trial and refine the tool before it is made accessible to wider public audiences.

Alistair Griffiths, RHS director of science, speaks on behalf of the FNGG:

“After a summer of back-to-back heatwaves and drought, and with many parts of the country now facing exceptionally wet and windy weather, the need to prepare our gardens for a changing climate has never felt more urgent.

“The Garden Climate Assessment Tool will ultimately help gardeners make more informed decisions about the plants they grow, enabling them to create more resilient gardens.”

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