HELP OUR PLANET

The HOP talks

Eminent scientists and nature writers discuss what we can do to help

Join us once a month to watch a filmed presentation followed by a question and answer discussion with the presenter in person. We hope to create a lively and informative forum to inform and inspire individuals, families and communities with tangible actions to help combat the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.

1. Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS VMH

(Former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)

Tropical Rainforests and their People

Thursday 28 July 7pm (Doors 6.30pm bar and hot snacks available)

Tickets £10 Under 21s £5. All proceeds to support Survival International in memory of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira. Extra donations can be given on the night. 

Please call 01308 459511 to reserve your tickets now.

One of the world’s greatest botanists, Professor Sir Ghillean Prance undertook 39 expeditions to Amazonia during the 25 years he worked at the New York Botanical Gardens

Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1988 to 1999, leading botanist Professor Sir Ghillean Prance launches the Help Our Planet Talks at Sladers Yard on Thursday 28 July with a filmed presentation about Tropical Rainforests and their People followed by questions and discussion with the audience.  Ticket proceeds will go to Survival International in memory of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira who were murdered in the Amazon for their work protecting the indigenous people. By celebrating all that we have to lose, the talks aim to encourage, inspire and inform us about how we can help our planet. 

Ghillean Prance joined the New York Botanical Gardens straight from Oxford where he had gained a D.Phil in Forest Botany. He undertook 39 expeditions to Amazonia from New York during which he collected over 350 new species of plants. He has published widely including 26 books and over 590 scientific papers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Linnean Society. He was knighted in 1995 and has been recognised for his immense contribution to science internationally, with awards from Brazil, Sweden and Japan, as well as from this country. He was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1993 and the Patron’s Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 1994.

Since his retirement he has remained actively involved on environmental issues, and in writing books and scientific papers. He is Chairman of the Mass Extinction Monitoring Trust (MEMO) and President of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Trust and of the Nature in Art Trust. He has been President of the UK Wild Flower Society for several years and has been very involved with the Eden Project. He lives in Lyme Regis with his wife Anne. 

Sir Ghillean is a charismatic speaker with many interests and enthusiasms. Expect a lively and thought-provoking evening. Questions and comments will be invited from the audience in the second part of the evening. 

Please call 01308 459511 to reserve your tickets. Numbers are limited and tickets will be essential.

The HOP talks

The HOP talks are an initiative started by Philip Howse OBE (Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton) with Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS VMH CBE, James Lovelock CBE, George Monbiot and Dr George McGavin plus a number of other skilled and committed people who have given their time to help. 

Please join us and Help Our Planet!