In this lecture, Ken Thompson will address a number of questions:

Where do plants and animals belong? And is that the same thing as where they’re native? What does ‘native’ mean anyway? Does it have any kind of time limit? Should it? And what should be our attitude to natives and aliens? Are all aliens bad, or only some of them, and how do we know? What, if anything, should we do about alien species we don’t like?

After an academic career, including a PhD from Sheffield University and lecturing roles at Durham, Plymouth and Sheffield Universities, Ken has written several books on gardening and popular science. In 2014 he published Where do Camels Belong? The Story and Science of Invasive Species(Profile Books). The Sceptical Gardener, a collection of his gardening columns from the Daily Telegraph, was published by Icon Books in 2015, and a second collection was published in 2020. His book on Charles Darwin’s botany was published by Profile Books in 2018.

In 2016 he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Veitch Memorial Medal for his contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture.

Now retired and living in Devon, Ken enjoys gardening, watching old films, walking, reading and supporting Plymouth Argyle football club and he writes and lectures extensively, including teaching on the Kew Horticulture Diploma.

This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends to access. Members of the public are welcome to join us for the live-streaming of the lecture for just £5. Please register, pay in our simple online check-out and you will receive details of the Zoom link to the lecture.