UCG students present at Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

How are botanical gardens shaped by colonial histories, and what stories remain hidden behind scientific naming and classification systems?

These questions lie at the heart of last year's project Colonial Roots: Plant Histories at Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, developed by our students Fay Anoelin, Fiachra Hayes, Mia von Vacano, and Mira Lynar. As part of this project, they created a video, a scientific report, and an alternative guide for Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, in which they critically examine how botanical gardens are shaped by colonial histories, with a particular focus on naming systems, classification practices, and the global circulation of plants. 

Focusing on species such as coffee, the Bismarck palm, and cycads, the project reveals how scientific knowledge has often been intertwined with colonial expansion, while Indigenous names, meanings, and ecological understandings have been marginalised or erased.

Building on this work, the students were invited this year to present their findings in person during a meeting with staff members of Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam. The exchange offered a valuable opportunity to connect academic research with institutional practice, and to reflect on how botanical histories are presented and interpreted today. 

We would like to thank Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam for the invitation and for engaging so thoughtfully with our students’ work.