Karen van Oostrum

She is a Biology graduate of Oxford University, where she also completed a PhD in wheat genetics. Karen previously worked as Head of Education at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, developing and delivering programmes for learners of all ages and backgrounds.

In 2012 she moved to the Chilterns, where she now works as a freelance botanist and educator. She is a Tutor for the Field Studies Council and for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland’s Identiplant course. In 2024 she also began training volunteer botanical surveyors for the Chilterns National Landscape 'Tracking the Impact' programme. Alongside this, Karen leads guided walks and delivers talks to a wide range of groups, exploring botany, historical landscapes and geology, with a particular interest in how geology and past land use shape local flora.

Karen spent a year working in Botswana after university and has travelled extensively, including time in Ecuador and the Galápagos, as well as visits to several US National Parks such as Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Joshua Tree. Wherever she goes, she relishes the challenge of discovering and understanding new plant communities and the stories behind them.