This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends of the Botanical Gardens to attend. Members of the public are also welcome to join us on payment of £5 at the door on the day. Live talks are held in the Education Centre in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens - easily accessed via the Thompson Road Entrance.

In this talk, Pam Smith, Senior National Adviser for Gardens and Parklands in the care of the National Trust, will explain the work, skills, stories, conservation dilemmas and future ambitions of working with over 400 years of garden history, over 200 gardens and the largest plant collections in Europe. A chance to hear about the behind the scenes work and also some memories of Pam’s time at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Pam has worked in horticulture for over 35 years across the public parks, botanic and heritage horticulture sectors. She is a former Director of the University of Birmingham Botanic Gardens and former Vice Chair of PlantNetwork. She is no stranger to Sheffield Botanical Gardens as she spent 6 months of her training here as part of her 12 months placement with Sheffield Parks Department in the 1980s.

Pam recently designed the gardens for the Castlefield Viaduct project, the ‘garden in the sky’ which has turned a derelict viaduct in Manchester into an urban park by planting it with trees, flowers and shrubs. She is an RHS committee member and Horticultural Trustee of Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses which has just received NHLF funding for a capital restoration project. Her research includes urban botanical heritage and she loves monkey puzzle trees!