Freya Read
Plants for Health: Content and Data Officer at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
After completing my integrated master’s degree in biology from the University of York, I carried out an internship with Samuel Pironon, working on documenting the diversity of plant species used by humans across the world. I am currently a member of the Plants for Health team at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This project aims to create a comprehensive catalogue of plants used in health-related contexts, including dietary supplements, beverages, cosmetics, and traditional medicines. It addresses inconsistencies in how plant and herbal substance names are applied across countries and disciplines. In my role as Content and Data Officer, I focus on analysing, reformatting and enriching datasets for both partner and project datasets. Additionally, I manage a small team of volunteers who are working on various projects related to the data capture of plant use information.