Kew Gardens has established a "living laboratory" at its wild botanic garden at Wakehurst, UK.

The move is part of a research project to explore the benefits of biodiversity in the UK.

The Wakehurst site is open to visitors and includes a number of botanical attractions to explore – such as the 150-acre Loder Valley Nature Reserve, an area called The Wetlands and a six-acre American Prairie.

As well as the botanic garden, the 500-acre Wakehurst site includes the Millennium Seed Bank.

Kew Gardens' team of scientists will assess Wakehurst's flora, fauna and woodlands to gather evidence and examples of how the UK's future environment might look. The work and findings will then be shared with policymakers in order to steer future work on the environment and conservation.

A spokesperson for Kew Gardens said: "Our horticulturalists work closely with scientists based in the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) to create the landscape we all love and enjoy.

"Plants grown at the site are from seeds collected by our global partnership to protect the world’s plant life.

"Alongside the Millennium Seed Bank's critical seed work, they have dedicated time to germinating, propagating, and nurturing key plants to enable scientists to better understand the potential of plant life."

To read more about the new living laboratory, click here.