![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/77a0bf05-53a2-4d0e-afed-92671230feb8.jpg\")
Simon Milne worked with many other countries to champion plant conservation (The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh\/PA)<\/p>\nSimon Milne, Regius Keeper for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, has been awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours for his services to botany, conservation and horticulture.<\/p>\n
A former Royal Marine Commando, director of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, and chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Sir Simon has a long-held interest and expertise in leadership, biodiversity conservation and international collaboration.<\/p>\n
For the past 12 years Sir Simon has had the title of Regius Keeper at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where he works to strengthen its impact and position as one of the world\u2019s most respected botanic institutions.<\/p>\n
He said receiving this award is \u201cdeeply meaningful\u201d as he prepares to retire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an immense honour to be appointed a Knight Bachelor, the second in 355 years for this truly remarkable organisation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy interest in plants dates to the 1970s when, as a child, I helped propagate seeds brought back by my uncle from fieldwork in the Far East and volunteered on a local nature reserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn reflection, these early experiences inspired my lifelong curiosity in nature and commitment to conservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving this award as I prepare to retire from such an extraordinary community is deeply meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur science, horticulture, conservation, education and engagement teams play a vital role in responding to the global biodiversity crisis, backed by an exceptional group of other specialist staff and volunteers whose work often goes unseen.<\/p>\n
Simon Milne worked with many other countries to champion plant conservation (The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cLeading so many talented and committed people over my career has been a huge privilege, and I thank them all for their loyalty, support and dedication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I step down, I will do so with gratitude and confidence. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is in capable and visionary hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud of what we have achieved together locally, nationally and internationally, and even more so of the values of curiosity, care and integrity that shape our culture \u2013 from those who tend the soil to those who sequence genomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs our research teams tackle urgent environmental challenges \u2014 pushing the boundaries of technology to deepen our understanding of biodiversity and evolution \u2014 they work hand in hand with conservation horticulturists who are pioneering new approaches to propagate rare species and return them to the wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplementing this scientific and horticultural work are community engagement programmes that support disadvantaged and hard-to-reach groups, making a profoundly positive impact on people\u2019s lives, wellbeing and sense of connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir Simon has worked with with heads of state, ambassadors, ministers and fellow botanic garden directors to champion plant conservation as a constructive and \u201csafe\u201d entry point to support broader international diplomacy on behalf of the UK.<\/p>\n
He has also led a seven-year capital project to restore the garden\u2019s Palm Houses. With this work nearing completion, further restoration of the modernist temperate and tropical public glasshouses will follow as part of the wider Edinburgh Biomes initiative.<\/p>\n
The only other regius keeper to have received a knighthood since the garden\u2019s inception in 1670 was Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour.<\/p>\n
He was named in the 1920 civilian war honours list for \u201cservices in connection with the war\u201d. This included persuading the War Office to the benefits of using sphagnum moss for wound dressings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Simon Milne, Regius Keeper for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, has been awarded a knighthood in the New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-661752","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115806748586697573","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}