A tale of carbon & mycorrhizal fungi at the new Carbon Garden at Kew.  PART 1.

A tale of carbon & mycorrhizal fungi at the new Carbon Garden at Kew. PART 1.

Author: Gemma Plumb & Aisling Creevey August 27, 2025 Duration: 45:01

Gemma and Aisling were invited to speak to some of the incredible people behind the new Carbon Garden at Kew Gardens in London which opened in July 2025. This is part 1 with part 2 to follow in two weeks.

This extraordinary new space explores the story of carbon and how important it is to life on Earth. More than just a beautiful garden, this project communicates the scale of the climate crisis while celebrating the remarkable power of plants and mycorrhizal fungi as our planet's natural allies. With 35 carefully selected trees and 6,500 beautiful plants, the Carbon Garden is one of Kew Gardens' most ambitious garden projects in recent years.

The garden is filled with lots of brilliant features including a rain garden and a stunning central pavilion, which has been inspired by fungi and made with natural materials. Some of the planting also takes inspiration from the climate stripes, which were created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading.

Each of the guests were unique, fun and above all so passionate about what they do. It was lovely to hear their story in person.

In part 1 we chat to

Richard Wilford – Designer of the Carbon Garden and Head of garden design at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Kevin Martin – Head of Tree Collections at Royal Botanic Garden Kew

Laura M. Suz – Senior research leader in mycology at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Resources:

Kew Gardens - https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens

Kew Gardens Carbon Garden - https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-in-the-gardens/carbon-garden

Climate stripes - https://showyourstripes.info/

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Ever find yourself actually enjoying a rainy afternoon or wondering why a certain cloud looks the way it does? You're not alone. For the love of weather is the ongoing conversation between meteorologists Gemma Plumb and Aisling Creevey, who have spent over fifteen years forecasting across the UK. This podcast captures the kind of deep-dive chats they've been having for years, moving far beyond simple small talk. They pull back the curtain on what weather really means for our daily lives, drawing on a surprising range of experience. Their professional paths have seen them predicting conditions for everything from major music festivals and national rail networks to agricultural harvests and even ice cream demand, giving them a unique perspective on how the atmosphere connects to the ground beneath our feet. Each episode feels like sitting with two experts who are still genuinely fascinated by their subject, discussing the science behind a storm front, the challenges of a long-range forecast, or how a shift in the wind can change an entire industry's plans. It's a look at the patterns and stories in the sky, grounded in the reality of jobs, life changes, and a shared curiosity that hasn't faded. Tune in for a human take on the forces that shape our days.
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