Plants are
the answer.

Treasurer Trustee

Bgen, the Botanic Gardens Education Network, is seeking a new Treasurer Trustee to join its Board. This unpaid voluntary role offers a unique opportunity to support a small, but passionate charity at a pivotal moment in its growth.

Bgen is a specialist support network for professional plant and natural world educators. We help our members to connect people and plants in innovative and engaging ways, through online events, face to face training and networking events and our Annual Conference.

We are looking for a Treasurer who will bring enthusiasm, commitment, fresh perspectives and who will broaden the diversity of thinking on our Board. The successful candidate will combine professional financial knowledge and experience with a deep commitment to supporting our mission in this vital non-executive role.

As our new Treasurer trustee, you will play an active role within the Bgen Board and provide leadership on its financial health, ensuring robust processes, accurate records and sound-decision making with transparency and accountability.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the dynamic Board and support our work to empower plant and environmental education and engagement professionals across the UK.

Availability and commitment

As a Board member you will need to be able to attend up to six board meetings per year (held online) and the Annual General Meeting, organised in January – February each year. You will also spend around 2 -3 days per quarter in between meetings, to prepare the quarterly accounts, provide advice and coordinate payments, with support from the Bgen Coordinator and Bgen Bookkeeper. Days may vary throughout the year, depending on activity.

On October 7th, we are hosting a Bgen Board Strategy Away Day at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and your attendance would be extremely helpful.

This position would be for a period of three years minimum (term can be renewed after this time).

About Bgen

Bgen (the Botanic Garden Educators Network) was founded by a group of botanic garden educators in 1989 to share expertise, develop best practice in environmental and biodiversity education, offer specialist support and build a training network.

This network now supports and builds capacity in educators, working across the UK and in some areas of Europe, in fields such as the built and natural environment, biodiversity management and conservation and sustainability.

Our members

Bgen is has over 280 members, representing more than 50 botanic gardens, zoos, arboreta, and other environmental education institutions throughout the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world. Bgen members:

•    raise awareness of plant diversity, conservation and the role of plants in our daily lives

•    help visitors understand the vital work of botanic gardens, parks and historic gardens

•    work with many audiences including families, school groups and the wider community

•    make links between people and plants around the world

The reach of Bgen UK member organisations is large, encompassing collectively more than 88m visitors and our members work to raise awareness about, and encourage behaviour and attitude changes for, the conservation of our world’s natural heritage and the development of a more sustainable lifestyle.

Importantly, the work of our members contributes to addressing societal issues such as food security, health and wellbeing, inequality and disadvantage, exclusion, people’s disconnect to nature, an ageing population and loneliness and the lack of young people aspiring to scientific careers, in particular in the plant sciences.

Our Vision

To inspire, innovate and influence how people engage with plants and the environment by empowering a strong network of organisations and building capacity in our membership.

Our Mission

To be a knowledgeable and strong network of organisations and professionals delivering inspiring, innovative and relevant public engagement through plants and nature.

Our Values

Our core values run through everything we do:

•    Innovate: we welcome new ideas and find creative solutions to educate and engage the public in plant based and nature conservation.

•    Pursue excellence: we aspire to excellence by delivering high quality services to our members and always look to improve.

•    Collaborate: we believe in the value of working together with our members and partners to provide better services and solutions.

•    Be inclusive: we value ideas, views and strengths of everyone we work with and aim to develop the diversity of our governance, our members and who they engage with.

•    Act with integrity: we promote an open and honest environment and ensure charity resources are managed responsibly, with ethical values and sustainable working practices.