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Jackie Chambers
Horticulturist
Professional Biography
Jackie Chambers is a Horticulturist with an Honours Diploma in Horticulture from Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, UK. She graduated with distinction from Olds College where she obtained a Production Horticulture Diploma in Greenhouse Management. Jackie also holds a B.A. from the University of Calgary with a focus in Applied Ethics.
Jackie’s work experience is vast and spans the globe. In addition to the years spent at RBG, Kew she has also worked as a commercial grower in Calgary, tended the orchid collection at the Royal Horticulture Society Garden at Wisley, UK, and worked at the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens in Israel.
Jackie has given tours, lectures and presentations. She has also written articles for newsletters and journals, and even a few submissions for Botany Photo of the Day. She enjoys sharing what she has seen and learned from her studies, her work and her travels. She is deeply passionate about her work and the fact that there is always something new to learn continues to spark her interest in the field.
Personal Notes
I love to travel and to see new things. I find it exciting to see plants in their native habitat and I enjoy taking photographs of plants and landscapes. Photos can offer details or perspectives that people may not have noticed before. This provides an opportunity for reflection on the beauty and the amazing diversity among plants.
Plants are a key component to life, and I also have a keen interest in seeing the connections between people and plants — agriculture, food, cooking, ornamental gardening, fabric / textiles, art, religion, and medicine. I find it fascinating to talk to people and hear their stories with regards to plants: how they use them, and why certain plants are important to them.
Favourite Plant
It would be impossible to pick just one — although I admit to a special fondness for geophytes, especially members of the Iris Family (Iridaceae). You have to admire plants that spend part of their life cycle as underground structures — bulbs, corms, rhizomes — patiently waiting for the right conditions, and then surprise with a spectacular display.
Contact
Room 124, Campbell Building
UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research
6804 SW Marine Drive
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
V6T 1Z4
