Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

‘Challenges and Opportunities for Conserving Historic Parks and Gardens in the 21st Century’,

John Watkins, Chair of Trustees, The Gardens’ Trust

Parks and gardens are at the heart of our communities and national story but are often taken for granted or undervalued; historic parks and gardens have a critical role to play in nature recovery and helping combat the effects of climate change, by providing established habitats and being highly effective for carbon capture and sequestration.

John Watkins DHE, M.Hort(RHS), FCIHort is a professional horticulturist with some 47 years’ experience and was awarded the RHS Associate of Honour in 2016. He was Senior Lecturer at Hadlow College in Kent and worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh and Kew, the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley and Hyde Hall. In 2000 John became Head of Gardens and Landscape at English Heritage (now Historic England). He has been involved in a range of restoration, conservation and interpretation projects: the Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth, the Fountain Garden at Bolsover, recreating the oak pasture around the Boscobel Oak, complex Georgian landscapes at Chiswick, Wrest Park and Marble Hill, and walled gardens at Audley End, Osborne, Mount Grace and Battle Abbey.

Image: Mount Grace, North Yorkshire

Joint Lecture with The Yorkshire Gardens Trust and YPS

7pm in the Tempest Anderson Lecture Theatre in the Yorkshire Museum on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

YGT and YPS Members and students free, non members £5.

Member’s report:

On 28 April 2026 the Yorkshire Philosophical Society and the Yorkshire Gardens Trust held its biennial lecture at the Tempest Anderson Lecture Theatre at the Yorkshire Museum.

The lecture, “Challenges and Opportunities for Conserving Historic Parks and Gardens, was delivered by John Watkins, Chairman of the Gardens Trust who took us through a series of important topics which parks and gardens must address. One highly important matter is, of course, the changes to the climate that we are already experiencing and are likely to increase, and more rapidly than one might have hoped only a few years ago. Most of our parks and gardens were designed for a milder climate and major changes to planting and providing shade for park users are now having to be considered or implemented.

Other matters of concern are sourcing skilled managers of the parks and gardens, and maintaining them with the assistance of volunteers. These too need to be found, trained and managed. It is vital that our parks are preserved for the physical and mental health of residents and for the wildlife that should be thriving in these spaces

Of course, all of this requires funding. This is increasingly hard to find despite the widely recognised value of our parks.  We should all consider how we might assist in preserving our parks. The Gardens Trust offers comprehensive advice and training. It is helpful that the Trust provides a framework for practical information about how we each can assist these concerns

Allison Wolfgarten