The Cricket Pavilion, University Parks, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1
A garden visit with a difference - an opportunity to visit the historic University Park’s Cricket Pavilion to hear Dr Carolyn Jenkins, the 9th Superintendent of the University Parks (the first was William Baxter 1866-1890), talk about her plans for one of the city’s most beautiful public spaces for which she and her team of gardeners and arborists are responsible, along with about 200 smaller green spaces all over the University Estate. It is a period of strategic change for the University Parks. Appointed in 2022, Dr Jenkins is interested in finding ways to build on and communicate the University Park’s long and interesting history while still meeting 21st-century needs. Additionally, the Park’s team needs to ensure that the wide variety of important archaeology beneath the Park is kept safe. The talk will therefore focus on looking forward, describing plans for improving the plant collections and on making the Parks resilient in the face of climate change, dwindling water supplies and plant health threat. If time & weather permit, there will be a guided walk. Refreshments are included.