Fenna van Charldorp-Hanraets and Edwin Pos

Name, role and organisation

Fenna: My name is Fenna van Charldorp-Hanraets and I’ve been working as Operational Director of Utrecht Botanic Gardens since August 2020. This is a shared role in which I am responsible for such things as communication and marketing, finances, human resources and business relations management. And together with Edwin Pos (Scientific Director of Utrecht Botanic Gardens) I’m responsible for the functioning of the museum and day-to-day operations. Prior to joining Utrecht Botanic Gardens, I worked at Utrecht Science Park as Director of the Utrecht University Fund and as Head of Relationship Management at Utrecht University.

Since joining Utrecht University, I’ve got to know the Botanic Gardens well and come to appreciate them tremendously. What appeals to me most is the combination of knowledge and research with relaxation. You can stroll through the Botanic Gardens, enjoy all the plants and learn something about them in the process. Although this is my first ‘green’ job, I’ve always been involved with plants. I had my own rock garden as a child and used to help my parents and the neighbours with weeding.

Edwin: My name is Edwin Pos. I started out as a biology student and have been Scientific Director of Utrecht Botanic Gardens since August last year. My remit is (academic) education and research. This means developing new lines of research and education, maintaining and expanding the plant collections and making this knowledge available to society. Together with my colleague Fenna, I’m responsible for the day-to-day operations and we are each other’s backup.

Prior to taking up this challenge, I was already working at Utrecht University as Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Ecology, in the Ecology and Biodiversity research group. Biodiversity and plant diversity in particular have always fascinated me. It was this fascination that prompted me to study biology, with my chief interest being understanding how the dynamics of ecosystems are shaped.

What does Utrecht Science Park mean to you?

Fenna: For me, Utrecht Science Park is an ideal hub in which to work and stay. It’s within easy cycling distance of where I live, Driebergen-Rijsenburg. The atmosphere is international, it’s an area rich in knowledge with research playing a key role, the large number of students make the place lively and colourful and ... there are the nine beautiful hectares of Utrecht Botanic Gardens!

Edwin: Utrecht Science Park is a place where research, education and society come together. Yet it also provides opportunities to relax, engage in sports and enjoy nature. It makes it possible to pass on the high-quality research not only to the next generation through academic education but also to society through programmes offered at Utrecht Botanic Gardens, for instance.

Fenna van Charldorp-Hanraets and Edwin Pos, management Botanic Gardens

Utrecht Science Park is a place where research, education and society come together. Yet it also provides opportunities to relax, engage in sports and enjoy nature.

What is the impact of Utrecht Science Park on society? And what is your role in this?

Fenna: The knowledge and expertise at Utrecht Science Park go towards creating a healthier and more sustainable society, making Utrecht the most competitive region in Europe. We hope that the Botanic Gardens will contribute to this not only by facilitating research but also by us conducting our own research and sharing this knowledge as widely as possible with society.

Edwin: I fully agree with my colleague. And to add to that, Utrecht Science Park also offers the opportunity to integrate the various disciplines. Multidisciplinarity is the future of scientific research and Utrecht Botanic Gardens will be able to serve as the proverbial springboard for these disciplines to come together, enabling us to reach out to society in the best possible way.

What is your personal dream with regard to your role? What would you like to achieve in the next five or ten years?

Fenna: I am hoping that in a few years’ time we will be able to accommodate much higher visitor numbers than we have at present, rising from 150,000 a year to over 250,000. I’m also hoping that we’ll be able to instil in all those visitors a sense that our future depends on a healthy environment and that plants play a vital role in this. The Botanic Gardens will thus become the green heart of Utrecht Science Park, even more so than they already are. It goes without saying that this will necessitate the use of sustainable construction materials and renewable energy.

In other words, besides being a meeting place for young and old from within Utrecht Science Park and beyond, the Botanic Gardens will also need to become a bona fide research institute.

Another thing that appeals to me is the fact that the Botanic Gardens are actively attracting new target groups. The Botanic Gardens are for everyone, not just students and scientists. Our aim is for everyone who visits or works with Utrecht Botanic Gardens to discover something new and special about the world of plants. So that Utrecht Botanic Gardens form a unique, special meeting place where everyone feels welcome. Moreover, we’re keen to strengthen our academic ties by involving more faculties and research programmes in the Botanic Gardens. In other words, besides being a meeting place for young and old from within Utrecht Science Park and beyond, the Botanic Gardens will also need to become a bona fide research institute.

Edwin: I agree with this too, of course, but I am hoping that Utrecht Botanic Gardens will also be able to make a substantial contribution to the knowledge and understanding of ecosystems, their dynamics and diversity. Naturally, our collections have a central role to play in this regard, and so I hope that we’ll be able to expand them to more than 10,000 different plant species, and that we’ve not only reinforced but also enhanced our contribution to the protection and preservation of this diversity.

It’s also my wish to link up this research with the research of others, thereby enabling Utrecht Botanic Gardens to function as a link between the wide array of disciplines found in Utrecht Science Park. Of course, we’re hoping to pass all this on to the next generation in a wide range of educational activities for both academic and non-academic audiences.

Utrecht Botanic Gardens are open daily, including weekends. Please reserve a time slot in advance via: https://www.uu.nl/botanischetuinen