Gerard van Buiten

Name, position and organisation

Gerard van Buiten
Hortulanus of Utrecht Botanical Gardens
(Hortulanus is Latin for gardener; in practice, it means the person in charge of a botanical garden. Gerard manages the Botanical Gardens and also serves as the link between the office, the gardens and the university's research and education.)
Faculty of Science, Utrecht University

What is Utrecht Science Park? And what does it mean to you?

About 10 years ago, we started calling ourselves Utrecht Science Park's Central Park, and that's how we feel. We've seen the area grow enormously. When I started working here 22 years ago, the gardens were roughly in the middle of what was still known as De Uithof at that time. There was a big fence around the gardens and you couldn't see what was going on inside. We hardly had anything to do with the other users of De Uithof. For example, we saw almost no students at that time. Research did take place, but there wasn’t much contact other than that.

Fortunately, this has increased enormously in recent years. We like to get as many people who are studying and working here to visit the gardens as possible. In addition, many parties now seek out the cross-connections within Utrecht Science Park, such as the Green Office and Utrecht Science Park Foundation. I really like that cross-pollination too. I have also noticed that, because we focus on sustainability and biodiversity, parties such as Campus Management and the Green Office have been asking us for advice more often recently.

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

Impact can be viewed in many ways. For example, the majority of the city’s students study at Utrecht Science Park, and I couldn't imagine Utrecht without the students. I have also noticed that, thanks to the modest role of the gardens as a knowledge institution, we are asked for advice about issues all over the country.

The Botanical Gardens also play an ecological role in society. The more buildings are constructed at Utrecht Science Park, the harder it will become to make the ecological connection with Utrecht East from this area. The Botanical Gardens serve as a stepping stone for the animal population to come to the city from Oostbroek. Foxes come to visit from time to time, and we also have a whole collection of grass snakes. It was always thought there was no viable population here, but the Botanical Gardens are becoming increasingly important for animals such as birds and bats.

The Municipality of Utrecht also regards the Botanical Gardens as an important park and has included us in their green zoning plans. Our interaction with the green people of the municipality is great. I am asked for advice every now and then. For example, people will soon be looking at our examples of planted ‘wadis’ for the temporary collection of excess rainwater.

In your role, what is your personal dream? What would you like to have achieved in the next 5-10 years?

I can still see myself working here. The job is so varied and there are new things every day. I'm increasingly getting into a management role and spend more time behind the computer these days. 10 years from now, I hope to spend more time among the plants again, because that's really where my passion lies. Hopefully, I will have finished a lot of things that I'm currently working on by that point. My head is always full of ideas for new projects, so maybe I can turn them into something concrete.

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