I found this nugget and thought it was worth sharing - botanic gardens could use the opportunity to improve website acessibility and publicise the fact. From the AbilityNet newsletter.
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Latest eNation Report - Tourist Attraction Sites Get 1 Out of 10
"Disabled people planning excursions online can choose anywhere - as long as it's Glasgow's Science Centre" is the disappointing but not altogether surprising conclusion of our latest eNation report published.
Of the ten websites sampled, which were selected randomly from lists of the top ten visitor attractions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, only www.glasgowsciencecentre.org gained a minimum accessibility rating. The remaining nine sites, including the London Eye and Eden Project websites, only achieved one or two stars out of a potential five, meaning that they lack the fundamental features to enable disabled people to access and navigate them effectively.
The full story and the report itself can be found at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/enation
Website Accessibility: an Opportunity for Botanic Gardens
CITES Manual
BGCI has just published a new edition of the CITES Manual for botanic gardens. You can download it online as a PDF from the BGCI website here:
http://www.bgci.org/policy/citesmanual/
Wuhan: Congress Proceedings Now Online
Attracting nearly 1,000 participants from 67 countries, the congress included 4 plenary sessions, 42 symposia, 7 workshops, and 6 network meetings. A total 202 oral and 145 poster presentations were given during the week.
You can now view these Proceedings online at http://www.bgci.org/wuhan/
As well as being able to view all the papers and posters that were contributed, you can also view pictures from the Congress on the BGCI Flickr group and read Sarah Kneebone's daily updates if you want to revisit those exciting days. Just look out for the links on the 3GBGC web pages.
We hope you will join us again at the next BGCI Congress in 2010. If you can't wait that long, you are invited to join us in Delft next June for the 2nd World Scientific Conference "Challenges in Botanical Research and Climate Change"
Support Uganda Project!
The Nature Palace Garden in Uganda have taken the initiative following this article and have posted a great project on the GiveMeaning website. It's aiming to conserve wildlife and plants of the Ssese Islands which are in Lake Victoria. They plan to establish an arboretum amongst other things.
They need your vote in order to start fundraising so go there and vote now
Thanks for letting us know David, and good luck with the project.
Vegetable Orchestra
Plants have often been important to mankind but what is this all about?
Could be a good one to book for your next botanic garden party.
