VMU Botanical Garden: An Authentic Part of the University

“It is natural that scientific tasks of botanical gardens evolve and their activities expand over time. Today, facing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, botanical gardens worldwide are devoting considerable attention to the conservation of wild flora and endangered, rare plants. Our VMU Botanical Garden in Kaunas is no exception,” says Dr. Nerijus Jurkonis, the Director of the Garden, reflecting on the century-long evolution of the Garden and its continuing primary mission – to be an inseparable part of the University, serving as a base for research and studies.

The centenary of VMU Botanical Garden provided an opportunity to reassess its footprint as an institution, both within the University and in a broader national context. What echoes of its century-long history still resonate today?

In 1922, with the founding of the University of Lithuania in Kaunas, the idea of establishing a university botanical garden began to take shape. The chosen location was the area of the manor park in Aukštoji Freda, a suburb of Kaunas. Adorned with impressive ponds, this area once belonged to the landowner Józef Godlewski and included a part of the defensive installations of Kaunas fortress. The fact that the Botanical Garden, established a century ago, was not set up on a vacant site contributed significantly to its uniqueness: there was already a manor ensemble, various outbuildings, a manor park, an established pond system, and a unique landscape. However, the area had been damaged and neglected during the First World War, so the original founders had to undertake considerable work to transform it into what would resemble a botanical garden. I would say that our Botanical Garden reflects the history of the whole nation: the first half of the 19th century left its imprint here with the establishment of a manor house ensemble and a park. In the second half of the 19th century, as Kaunas was transformed into a fortress, fortifications were built in this area, including an artillery yard, and it even served as the residence of the fortress commandant. A later period covers the era of Lithuanian independence, when state institutions and a university were established, and alongside these developments, the Botanical Garden began to develop, with the Greenhouse and redesigned spaces becoming its distinctive features. Over the years, the face and direction of VMU Botanical Garden have been shaped by its various directors, but without doubt, the most significant influence on the Garden – as we see it today – was its first director, Prof. Constantin von Regel, a Swiss-origin scientist, who joined the University of Lithuania specifically to advance the science of botany and to establish the Botanical Garden.

Having travelled extensively and familiarised himself with the structure and equipment of contemporary botanical gardens, he sought to implement the best ideas in Lithuania. Consequently, he invited the renowned park and garden architect Karl Rauth from Hanover, Germany, who drew up a detailed plan for the layout of the Garden, modifying the network of old paths in the park while preserving its English landscape style. Between 1923 and 1925, construction began on another structure that would become a symbol of the Garden: the first Greenhouse, built according to the design of the German firm Höntech and completed in 1938. It featured four sections with constant temperature control and a large pool for tropical plants, alongside a dendropark and a Plant Systematics sector. All this was evidence of the persistence and methodical approach in achieving the goal of creating a modern and progressive botanical garden, drawing inspiration from the best European botanical gardens of the time. Equally important is the fact that, right from the start, the Garden was perceived as an inseparable part of the University and was established primarily as a base for research and studies. This was, and still is, its primary purpose and mission.

How have the activities of VMU Botanical Garden evolved over the years?

Within just a few years of its establishment, the Botanical Garden became not only a training base for students, but also an important centre of botanical sciences in Lithuania. The first printed publications appeared and the first seed list was compiled. Gradually, public interest in the Botanical Garden increased, leading to the organisation of guided tours and the publication of educational publications. Considerable attention was devoted to plant acclimatisation, introduction, and genetics, plant diseases and pests, systematics, and other related topics.

After the war, efforts began to restore the destroyed plant collections and expositions. New plant varieties were developed, various sectors, including Dendrology, Plant Systematics, Ornamental Plants, Geographical (Greenhouse), Pomology, Medicinal and Technical Plants, and Food and Fodder Plants were formed, biochemical research on medicinal plants was conducted, and the phenology of many native and introduced plants was observed. Once again, the direction of the Botanical Garden was significantly influenced by the history of Lithuania: during the Soviet occupation, the University in Kaunas was dissolved and partially relocated to Vilnius, leading to changes in the governance and scientific objectives of the Garden. During the Soviet era, the focus shifted to useful plants, the introduction of other crops, and their adaptation to our local conditions. Extensive work was undertaken in the field of breeding of not only ornamental plants, but also grapes, apricots, and other crops. After Lithuania regained its independence, in 1992, new collections of berry plants were established in the Pomology sector. In addition, breeding work on blueberries and cranberries was started, and research was conducted on the prospects of introducing and cultivating forest medicinal and berry plants and introduced berry cultures, such as large cranberries and blueberries, in Lithuania.

It is worth mentioning that one area that has remained consistently relevant since the founding of the Botanical Garden is that of medicinal plants. As early as 1924, Kazimieras Grybauskas established the Sector of Medicinal Plants and successfully expanded it. Work in this area has persisted throughout the century, ranging from promoting cultivation among farmers to various studies, acclimatisation, and the development of new varieties; for example, the hop varieties developed in our Botanical Garden and valued by brewers have survived to this day. Contemporary research has advanced to the next level – analysing the active substances of medicinal plants, collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology scientists, and exploring the applications and uses of plants – with the Botanical Garden serving as a crucial base for the practical aspects of the research. The fact that the importance of VMU Botanical Garden has remained constant over the years, both in science and education as well as in society, despite changing activities, is evidenced by the block of stamps issued by the Lithuanian Post Office to commemorate the centenary of the Garden in 2023. This serves as a testament to the recognition of our national importance as an institution.

The rapidly changing global context is also reshaping the mission of botanical gardens, revising their objectives, and even altering the nature of their activities. To what extent does VMU Botanical Garden reflect global trends and contribute to the global mission of botanical gardens?

Today, grappling with the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, botanical gardens play a vital role in the conservation of wild flora and endangered, rare plants. Increasingly, rare plants specific to the region of a particular botanical garden are being collected from known habitats and added to the collections of the Garden, where they are preserved and, when necessary, reintroduced into their natural environment. In our Botanical Garden, the Flora taxonomy exposition alone offers a rich diversity of wild plants (714 species across 53 families). We preserve over 100 endangered plant species in Lithuania, and an additional 258 collection numbers are assigned to the Lithuanian National Plant Genetic Resources.

It is worth noting that we have been a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) for 30 years. This organisation unites over 800 botanical gardens from more than 100 countries and was established in the United Kingdom in 1987. Its aim is to mobilise botanical gardens and build partnerships to help protect biodiversity, which is essential for the well-being of humanity and the planet. We engage in extensive communication and collaboration with colleagues from other botanical gardens, making the trend very clear: we need to work together to raise awareness of how to better manage and conserve existing plant diversity in the face of the current global challenges, namely the need to adapt to climate change and seek solutions for a more sustainable way of life. There is increasing talk that it is time for botanical gardens to reorient, i.e., to engage more with the public and use their expertise to help improve the cultivation, care, and effective conservation of biodiversity, and that the knowledge gained from the expositions and collections of botanical gardens needs to be returned to nature and that there is a need to forge new partnerships, adopt a broader perspective, and find ways to help people understand the significance of plants. We assist the BGCI in gathering and synthesising information on how botanical gardens respond to natural disasters, such as heatwaves, storms, cyclones, and fires. After receiving systematic data from us and other botanical gardens, teams of scientists analyse and learn from the observations. For example, they determine which species of trees and other plants are most resistant to heat, drought, fires, and strong winds. This information is vital for developing recommendations on which tree species are suitable for street planting and understanding their role in mitigating extreme climate effects, such as when cities become hotspots of unbearable heat. Another significant development in recent decades has been the opening up of botanical gardens to the public, leading to efforts to engage and educate the public. Naturally, this also requires investment in infrastructure. After all, we live in the 21st century, and visitors expect contemporary conditions: from a modern and comfortable infrastructure of the garden itself to information systems. At VMU Botanical Garden, we respond to this need to engage with the public. When inviting people to the Garden and organising events, we ensure that each event incorporates an educational element. Even if visitors come for a cultural entertainment event, such as a concert or a play, as they stroll through the Botanical Garden, they will encounter displays, plant labels, and exposition descriptions, and through these simple means, they will effortlessly learn about the plant world. Our events also cater to different age groups: from science festivals aimed at schoolchildren to the Fascination of Plants Day for the youngest ones, and The Night of Scents, our largest botanical summer celebration, which attracts families. We experience a massive influx of visitors during the plant flowering weeks and host a variety of educational activities and guided tours throughout the year. Our constant goal is to demonstrate that there are no “ugly” or “bad” plants and to captivate and reveal the astonishing diversity, richness, and beauty of flora to as many people as possible.

What role does the Botanical Garden play in today’s University?

It is interesting to note that in today’s Vytautas Magnus University, the Botanical Garden serves as an authentic link between the inter-war VMU and the re-established VMU of today. In fact, the Botanical Garden is the only facility that has remained in its original location throughout the century since its foundation, neither closed nor moved. The Botanical Garden maintains a strong scientific direction and educational mission, closely aligned with the foundational principles of artes liberals of Vytautas Magnus University. Importantly, the Garden is not solely a research and study base for any single faculty; rather, it is utilised by teachers across various study programmes within the University. Furthermore, the Botanical Garden serves as a resource for various educational institutions in the region, from vocational training centres to universities, in areas such as planting, floristry, and agriculture. For students of agronomy, horticulture, and pharmacy, it offers an excellent base for practical lectures and scientific research. Another significant aspect is that, over the past decade, the Botanical Garden has become an important venue for conducting educational activities, catering to all societal groups, from the youngest to the oldest. Given that the Education Academy is now an integral part of VMU and Kaunas has emerged as the primary centre for teacher training in Lithuania, the Botanical Garden has become a focal point where future educators can engage in practical training and explore and use the Garden for preparing and delivering lessons in natural sciences, nature education, and biology, as well as for implementing various teaching methods, among other activities.