Herbarium Curator (From Roots to Records Project)

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has an exciting opportunity for an Herbarium Curator to join their supportive team at the 1851 Royal Commission Herbarium—the UK’s largest herbarium dedicated to cultivated plants. Located in the state-of-the-art Hilltop building at RHS Garden Wisley, this role is fundamental to the From Roots to Records project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The RHS’s herbarium specialises in preserving dried cultivated plant specimens (c. 101,000 specimens) alongside photographs, prints, and paintings (c. 45,000 items), expanding annually by ~1,000 new items. The Herbarium Curator will:

• Contribute to handling, curating, and digitising the RHS’s nationally significant collections
• Support researchers, gardening communities, and conservation efforts via enhanced access to plant heritage
• Work with the Cultivated Plant Diversity department to provide expertise in collection management

From Roots to Records: Project Overview

Over two years, the project will:

• Preserve and digitise ~1,000 priority plants (including climate-resilient and culturally significant species) collected from:
  • RHS Garden Rosemoor
  • Public gardens across South-West England
  • Community efforts (‘Plant Guardians’) from Devon and Cornwall
• Connect new specimens to scientific research, enhancing global understanding of garden plant biodiversity and their benefits to local ecosystems.
• Engage diverse communities (schools, adult learners) with hands-on workshops and public events to foster heritage skills and conservation awareness.
• Use digitisation to make specimens accessible online worldwide.