News Published: 11 October 2024

On the 3rd – 4th October 2024, the conference Botanical Gardens: Legacy, Achievements, Mission, and Challenges in the first decades of the 21st Century and the annual meeting of the informal Association of Baltic Botanical Gardens (BBGA) took place at the Vilnius University Botanical Garden in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The event brought together 70 participants from eight Baltic botanical gardens and the Kalsnava Arboretum.
During the conference, participants delivered 13 oral presentations and five poster presentations, sharing the achievements of the Baltic Botanical Gardens in developing infrastructure, plant collections, and exhibitions, as well as their experiences in addressing specific challenges related to the care and management of plant collections.

These challenges included improving collection quality and combating insect pests affecting plants from genera such as Picea and Fraxinus. Presenters also discussed their work in developing educational programs and conducting scientific research.

At the BBGA annual meeting, participants highlighted recent accomplishments and outlined future plans for the gardens. They explored opportunities for joint projects and potential collaborations with the Nordic Arboretum Network. Additionally, attendees agreed to collaborate on an article summarizing and presenting over 30 years of cooperation among the Baltic Botanical Gardens. The next annual BBGA meeting was confirmed for September 2025 at Kalsnava Arboretum, Latvia.