New CEO for Plant Heritage

Gwen Hines, current CEO of international charity Save the Children UK, joins horticultural conservation charity in early March 

Gwen Hines, current CEO of leading international children’s charity Save the Children UK, has been appointed by Plant Heritage as its new CEO.  

Gwen has been at Save the Children UK for six years, and before that held senior roles in the UK Government’s Department for International Development and the World Bank. But, after an impressive 25-year career working on international development and campaigning to end child poverty, Gwen has decided that it’s time to pursue a growing passion in her life, plant conservation.  

Gwen Hines, new CEO of Plant Heritage, says: "I'm very excited to be joining Plant Heritage. I've become increasingly obsessed with plants in recent years, from growing them to studying them or just admiring their beauty, so this is my dream job. As the climate changes, it's more vital than ever to conserve our rich horticultural diversity. I’m looking forward to working with the Plant Heritage team, and to meeting National Plant Collection Holders, Plant Guardians, members and volunteers, to do just that."

Cecilia Bufton, Chairman of Plant Heritage, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Gwen as our new CEO, as she takes on a new challenge in her career. To have such an experienced leader will be a real asset to Plant Heritage, and we are sure that with her guidance we will continue to go from strength to strength. Her passion for horticulture embodies the ethos of everyone at Plant Heritage and the ongoing plant conservation work we strive to achieve, so we are very much looking forward to our next chapter with Gwen at the helm.” 

Plant Heritage welcomes Gwen in early March 2024, where she will join the horticultural conservation charity’s small but dedicated team of Trustees, staff and volunteers. Together they champion and conserve garden plants to ensure they remain in cultivation and don’t become lost from our gardens. The National Plant Collections – of which there are now over 700 – are a vital resource at the heart of the charity, protecting thousands of plants which might be threatened by climate change, emerging pests and diseases or changing trends.  

As a small charity Plant Heritage relies on hundreds of dedicated volunteers to ensure their vital plant conservation work is possible. To find out more, visit www.plantheritage.org.uk