Join us for a walking discussion with David Pratten (University of Oxford), Cornelia Löhne (Botanic Gardens, University of Bonn) and Julia Binter (Global Heritage Lab, University of Bonn) in the Arboretum of the Botanic Gardens. Together, they will explore the histories, legacies, and possible futures of living tree collections.

The discussion draws on Pratten’s long-term collaboration with Nigerian artist Zina Saro-Wiwa, which examines colonial histories, ecological consequences, and cultural heritage in the Niger Delta. While the flora of the Niger Delta has been severely impacted by crude oil extraction – leading in some cases to the disappearance of entire ecosystems – related plant species are preserved and curated as living archives in the Harcourt Arboretum in Oxford. This contrast raises urgent questions: What happens when it is no longer possible to encounter trees in their original environments due to environmental destruction? What role can botanic gardens and their living collections play in restoring or returning plant knowledge to formerly colonised regions? And how might academic–artistic collaborations contribute not only to environmental sustainability, but also to epistemic justice?

These themes resonate with the work of Mapuche artist Neyen Pailamilla, currently featured in the exhibition Pewen, what do you dream of? at the Global Heritage Lab. Pailamilla’s practice similarly addresses deforestation and extractivism while imagining pathways of healing in diasporic contexts.

This session of the Global Heritage Lab Seminar Series forms part of the research–exhibition project Knowing Plants: Ecologies of Memory and Practice.

Prof. Dr. David Pratten is Associate Professor in the Social Anthropology of Africa at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford.

Dr. Cornelia Löhne, is the Scientific Director of the Botanical Gardens at the University of Bonn.

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Binter is Argelander Professor for Critical Museum and Heritage Studies and Deputy Director of the Global Heritage Lab at the Transdisciplinary Research Area Present Pasts.