Botanical University Challenge
An annual contest of botanical knowledge between teams of UK and Irish university students.
Teams from 28 Universities and Institutions entered the on-line rounds of in February 2024. After Round 1, 18 remained in the contest. There were only 8 left after Round 2 and they competed in the quarterfinal on 28th February.
The result was that teams from the Universities of York, Cambridge and Reading and the Royal Botanic Garden Kew were in the Semifinal in August 2024. The questions were asked by Dr Lucy Sutherland, Director of the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The teams from the Universities of Cambridge and York made it into the final. Professor Lindsay Turnbull, University of Oxford asked the questions. After a very closely fought contest, the team from University of Cambridge won.
Recordings of all these are on our YouTube channel.
The Second Student Botany Festival followed the final, open to all BUC2024 contestants. This involved 2 days of networking, talks, career sessions, workshops and visits.
What is Botanical University Challenge?
BUC is a fun and friendly competition between teams of undergraduate & postgraduate students. It embraces many aspects of botany including plant ID, taxonomy & evolution, ecology & conservation, plant health, horticulture, agriculture & forestry as well as plants in culture & history.
Teams of 4 students compete in on-line rounds in February to find the semifinalists. These four teams then meet in a live semi-final and final in the summer that reveals the final winner.
Our Sponsors
We are grateful for financial support from the Gatsby Foundation, New Phytologist Foundation, Oxford University, RSK Biocensus, Ecology by Design, Garden Centre Association and others. We also thank the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland and Field Studies Council for kindly donating some of the prizes.
