The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad

We agree at our meetings which popular science books we would like to read, trying to get a balance between the various science disciplines. You don't have to be a scientist to come along, just be interested in science.

Tonight we will discuss The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad by Simon Parkin. This book was shortlisted for the 2025 Royal Society Science Book Prize, supported by the Trivedi Family Foundation. 

Parkin describes how the world’s first seed bank was created in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and tells the remarkable story of how the bank’s starving botanists saved the collection during the 1941-2 siege of Leningrad. This siege was the longest blockade in recorded history and is thought to have claimed the lives of three-quarters of a million people. See The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad by Simon Parkin | Royal Society for more details.

We will discuss this book and related topics. It can be purchased from David’s Bookshop in Letchworth (LALG discount makes it very competitively priced) or ordered from the library. We meet in the bar of Letchworth Sports and Tennis Club, Muddy Lane. There is no charge but please buy a drink NB card only, no cash.

This group is currently full but vacancies come up fairly often so contact Ann to go on the waiting list.