The Oxford Botanic Garden is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, culminating in a week packed with a wide range of activities for the old and the young and, most importantly, a celebration on of plants. The ‘Birthday Party for the Garden’ on Saturday 30th July marked the end of the final celebration week with a plant-based food fair, the Bodleian Printing Press and live music making an appearance.
Each day of the anniversary finale week featured soapbox talks from Oxford University staff and students and on Saturday, Ludwig Oxford PhD student Hannah Fuchs (Lu group) gave a talk about cancer treatments derived from plants.
I really enjoyed participating in this event. I even got to borrow a real Madagascar Periwinkle (which contains the chemotherapy drug Vincristine) for my talk and was delighted to discover a sketch of the same plant on the staircase of the Old Road Campus Research Building atrium where we work. This was a great celebration of the power of plants and biodiversity! - Hannah Fuchs