Report by Mr. Hiro Shimai, Glasgow Botanic Gardens
On the 6th of August 2025, a ginkgo sapling was planted at a Peace Garden in Glasgow Botanic Gardens by Jacqueline McLaren (the Lord Provost of Glasgow) and Katsutoshi Takeda (the Consul General, the Consulate General of Japan in Edinburgh) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and also the 850th anniversary of Glasgow. More than 100 people attended the ceremony and listened to speeches by the Lord Provost, the Consul General, and the Scottish CND, addressing the threat of nuclear weapons and the peace of the world.
Ginkgo seeds collected from the atomic bomb survivor tree in Hiroshima were sent from the Mayors for Peace office to Glasgow in 2023, through the Manchester City Council. Those were successfully germinated in a glasshouse in Glasgow Botanic Gardens. The Lord Provost was deeply touched to see the vigorous ginkgo seedlings and proposed to establish the Peace Garden to plant the ginkgo. Due to the cool climate in Scotland, the growth of the ginkgo is rather slow. Therefore, the sapling will be returned to the glasshouse again and transplanted next year in the Peace Garden. The glasshouse staff members will carefully care for the ginkgo until then.
HDE Botanics 3.mp4 – Google ドライブ
Photos: Courtesy of Mr. Hiro Shimai