The British Society invites you to its Inaugural Founders’ Medal Dinner on Thursday, March 26 at 6 pm at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, honoring Dr. Paul Smith for his exceptional achievements as head of the Millennium Seed Bank and leadership in the conservation of healthy, biologically diverse landscapes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  The program is cosponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society.

The Founders’ Medal honors exceptional leadership and achievement in the conservation and promotion of healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. It recognizes the group of women who, in 1900, founded the Society for the Protection of Native Plants to stop the large-scale harvesting of wild plants for the florist trade and seasonal decoration.

The Millenium Seed Bank aims to conserve seed from all plant species as insurance against the risk of extinction in their native habitats and for research, forest and habitat restoration, food security, and sustainable livelihoods. During Dr. Smith’s tenure, the MSB conserved seeds from more than 25,000 plant species, achieved the first milestone of securing seed from 10 percent of the world’s plants, and was on track to bank seeds of 25 percent of the world’s flora by 2020. Under Dr. Smith’s leadership, the MSB expanded the partnership network to 170 institutions in 80 countries; trained 2,000 seed biologists around the world; and established important initiatives to adapt agriculture to climate change and to increase the capacity of local communities, primarily in Africa, to conserve their natural resources and to store, propagate, and sustainably grow plant species to meet human needs.

The hotel is located at 40 Edwin H. Land Boulevard in Cambridge.  Single tickets are $250. For more information, and to order tickets online, visit www.newenglandwild.org/medal.