Cambridge University Botanic Gardens (CUBG) will offer a certificate in botany, based on recently uncovered plant specimens and illustrations used by Charles Darwin.

The course, which will run from 6 July to 1 August, includes lectures, practical work, and the detailed study of plants in the Botanic Gardens.

Professor Sam Brockington, the current curator of CUBG, told The Guardian about the importance of the initiative, noting that botany studies have recently “all but disappeared as a stand-alone undergraduate degree”.

Brockington added that much of the current study of plants is focused on “plant mechanisms at the molecular level,” leaving gaps in the breadth of students’ knowledge.

With the rediscovered materials, CUBG hopes to revive the subject by offering a four-week summer course open to students at Cambridge and other universities, especially those working and studying in conservation, ecology, and horticulture.

Dr Raphaella Hull, acting head of learning for CUBG, emphasised the need for students “to get your hands on the material […] to go and see it in the field”.

The materials for the course were created by Darwin’s mentor and St John’s alumnus Professor John Henslow, and were previously used in his undergraduate botany course starting in 1827. Darwin took the paper in 1828 during his first year at Cambridge.

The resources include plant specimens and illustrations in ink and watercolour, the use of which was new at the time. Brockington likened the novelty of these materials to “delivering PowerPoint talks 200 years ago”.

Henslow influenced Darwin’s career beyond the classroom, famously offering him a position as a resident naturalist on the HMS Beagle, which led to his work on the theory of evolution. Darwin later commented that Henslow “influenced my whole career more than any other”.

The month-long duration of the course resembles Henslow’s original structure, which was five weeks of study designed to focus on key skills students often lacked. Brockington stated that one of the motivations for the new programme is a current lack of “the language or conceptual framework to describe plant form and diversity” among students.

Hull commented on the importance of botany for addressing the climate crisis, telling The Guardian: "Having an understanding of plant morphology and plant diversity allows you to place your findings within a broader context. In terms of biodiversity loss and climate change, being able to observe and understand what is around us is essential.”

“If we don’t have botanists who are able to read the environment […] we don’t have a good way of understanding the condition of habitats across the world,” Hull added.