Regan presented the cheque for £6,000 to Dr Paul Smith, head of the millennium Seed Bank, at Kew Gardens

Regan presented the cheque for £6,000 to Dr Paul Smith, head of the millennium Seed Bank, at Kew Gardens

Berry Garden has presented a cheque for £6,000 to the Kew Gardens Millennium Seed Bank partnership.

The UK's largest berry and cherry co-operative made the donation to commemorate the retirement of its chairman, Marion Regan, after more than 15 years with the group.

Regan's successor, Paul Kelsey, said the money for the world's largest ex-situ plant conservation project would help to "preserve a range of species which without its protection may other otherwise disappear from the planet. The importance of their work cannot be underestimated."

Berry Gardens chose the project because up to 50 per cent of the Millennium Seed Bank's initial target species could be berries.

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