Invitation to the Botanic Gardens
Grab your very own VIP access pass and explore the incredible Botanic Gardens.
Have you ever wondered what goes on at the Botanic Gardens? It's not all planting and pruning. In fact, the team have a planet-saving mission on their hands - and you can help. Step off the path and follow the Garden crew who will show you behind the scenes of the Botanic Gardens with your very own access-all-areas invitation.
Find out how scientists research plants that can cure diseases, watch workers wading in the waterlily pond, and discover the secrets of seeds. Find out why samples of rare and endangered plants are stored in the Herbarium and leave no leaf unturned in the tropical glasshouse. Discover insect-eating plants, zombie fungus, plants pretending to be pebbles, and more.
Charlotte says she doesn't come from anywhere because she moved around a lot when she was growing up. She always wanted to be a writer and worked as a bookseller before training to teach English as a Foreign Language. This took her to the Czech Republic and Ukraine, before she headed to Zanzibar to teach English to student nurses. On her return to the UK, Charlotte moved to Oxford where she started working in publishing before going freelance and writing children's non-fiction. She now writes picture books and young fiction, both with her husband Adam, and on her own.
Helen Shoesmith (Illustrator)
Helen has a degree in Graphic Arts from Liverpool John Moores University and a Masters in Illustration for Children from the North East Wales School of Art. Helen lives and works in the North West of England with her partner and two young children and when she's not drawing she's planning adventurous family days out and cosy nights in.