The former Chief Executive of Nottingham Castle has secured a new position at another heritage site. Sara Blair-Manning has been appointed as chief executive at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Sara Blair-Manning acted as Chief Executive of the castle from 2019 until August last year, overseeing its reopening after a £30m regeneration project. The former CEO has vowed to take the Nottingham Castle Trust to an employment tribunal, arguing she was unfairly dismissed from her job by the Nottingham Castle Trustee Board.
The former executive has now joined the grade II* listed Gardens in Edgbaston with 27 years’ experience in the cultural and charitable sectors. While CEO with The John Clare Trust, she worked with Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost and sponsors Lands’ End to create The Rural Muse garden, which won gold at RHS Chelsea in 2012.
READ MORE: Aiden Aslin thanks Elon Musk after posting video taken moments before surrender
In a statement announcing her appointment at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, she said: “I can’t wait to start working with the trustees, staff and volunteers of this important charity. Whether it’s cultivating a window box to grow herbs, re-wilding areas on a landscape scale for improved biodiversity or working with nature and ecosystems to help reduce the impacts of climate change, we are all able to make and feel a positive difference through nature.
“I look forward to meeting sector colleagues and sharing future developments for Birmingham Botanical Gardens with our visitors, members and supporters.”
Her appointment comes months after the Gardens appointed Rebecca Steen as operations director, while last year also saw former BBC Midlands Today news presenter and experienced board member Sue Beardsmore being appointed chair of the trustees. Eight new trustees also joined the charity.
Welcoming Sara to the Gardens, Ms Beardsmore said: “We have many exciting plans to preserve and enhance the heritage of Birmingham Botanical Gardens for future generations and Sara is just the person to help us achieve our ambitious goals.”
The Gardens, which is home to four Victorian glasshouses, operates as a charity and receives no regular public funding. It relies on public donations, grants and income it can generate through conferences, weddings and other events.
Set within a Conservation Area, it is a 15-acre oasis just one mile from the city centre and has more than 7,000 formally documented plants, with the largest and most diverse botanic collection in central England.
READ NEXT:
