Dale Arvidsson

Curator, Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

The Regional reality | tales from Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Young botanic gardens are a challenging place to work in and manage. From issues regarding sustainability, preservation of our natural environment, staff retention and public use and awareness, to funding, research and promotion, botanic gardens today have to prove their relevance. Dale Arvidsson will provide an overview of the development of the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens since 2001 to the present day - highlighting the trials and tribulations - the regional reality - of botanic gardens away from the capital cities, whilst aiming high to meet our plan(e)t priorities. A combination of hard work, long hours and passion keeps regional gardens active and relevant is  and Dale's presentation will share will you the often humorous, sometimes heartbreaking and always fascinating work of continuing the legacy of developing a young garden.

Dale Arvidsson is passionate about flora, conservation, the arts, history and architecture and design – passions he has been able to combine in his current role as Curator at the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens.  He has held positions with Bundaberg Regional Tourism and Bundaberg Visitor Information Centre as well as working as a graphic designer and illustrator.  He moved to Mackay in September 2003 and has worked with the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens ever since.  Having lived in regional Queensland all of his life, Dale is committed to regional sustainability and in 1999 was awarded the Graeme Stielow Memorial for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual for his work with the Queensland Tourism Industry.

Derek Ball

Operations Manager, Reef Catchments

The link between National Parks and Botanic Gardens”

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Biodiversity is commonly defined as the diversity of life at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. The primary strategy utilised for the conservation of biodiversity is the dedication and management of either State or privately sponsored Protected Areas. Management principles for such areas focus upon maintaining the natural condition of the area. However there is typically poor recognition of the need to define that condition, and little focus on understanding the natural change that may be inherent to the biological systems present. In this regard, Protected Area managers have become focussed on maintaining biological systems as static entities. It is argued in this presentation that Botanical Gardens represent more appropriate avenues for this type of management strategy and that Protected Area managers should consider a more fluid and adaptive approach.

Derek is a marine scientist and zoologist with close to 20 years industry experience in environmental management.  He has worked in fish farming, marine ecotourism and has spent close to 15 years in National Park management and biodiversity conservation. Derek has had extensive involvement in the ecological use of fire and has written comprehensive fire management strategies for over ½ million hectares of Queensland’s National Parks and other protected areas. In addition, he has led the formation of several critically valuable new conservation reserves in the Mackay Whitsunday Region. Derek has a wide range of professional and research interests including in coastal wetland management and restoration, mangrove and estuarine ecosystems, and recovery of threatened species. Currently Derek is finalising work on his PhD; investigating some of the impacts of urban development on mangrove ecosystems.

Brent Braddick

Curator, Tondoon Botanic Gardens Gladstone

Fight for your Rights: the struggle to keep and grow Botanic Gardens Native.

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Botanic Gardens are not well understood resources amongst the community. From surveys it is shown that people predominantly visit Botanic Gardens for recreation purposes. Further to the struggle for our cause is the lack of knowledge about Native Botanic Gardens or even worse local natives. In most cases people don’t recognise what value to the community they have from the native plants around them. This situation is not restricted to the community but also our management, council and even State Government. Because Tondoon Botanic Gardens is one of the best examples of collecting and preserving the unique vegetation of regional areas, I would like to use our story to encourage others in their determination for the cause.  I will be talking about the many aspects and roles of a local native Botanic Gardens and how to best achieve a truly valuable resource. In order to keep goals and aims true for the future and those who will come after us we must fight for our rights now.

Brent Braddick started work for the Gladstone City Council in 1985 as their Nurseryman, with one of his main jobs being to grow plants for the developing Tondoon Botanic Gardens. His knowledge, experience and passion for plants led him to the Horticultural Supervisor’s position within a few years. Between 1988 and 1995, when he became Technical Officer for Parks & Recreation he oversaw the collecting and planting of thousands of plants at Tondoon. During his years as Technical Officer he completed many projects for Tondoon and around town. He also received a Diploma in Horticulture during this time. In 2005 Brent was appointed Curator of Tondoon. This brought big changes for the gardens - netter team work and a higher level of knowledge and ability all round.

Tim Buykx and Kevin Walsh

Bendigo Botanic Gardens

Bendigo Botanic Gardens: A Master Plan for its Rejuvenation and Extension

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The Bendigo Botanic Gardens is one of Victoria’s oldest regional botanic gardens. After a long period of neglect and several false starts, staff of the City of Greater Bendigo have spent 18 months developing a Master Plan to guide the restoration of the 6.4 hectare 150 year old section, and also to develop an exciting and sustainable new botanic gardens for the 21st century in over eight hectares beside the current gardens.

Tim Buykx is an award winning Landscape Architect with experience in landscape design, urban development, open space planning, recreation development, and project management.  Tim has managed and directed landscape and urban design projects and teams from both the client and consultant perspective. His experience working in the private and public sector has endowed him with a well developed understanding of the needs of the client, authority and end users. He recognizes the need for high quality in design, environmental and recreation development and the need for stakeholder involvement. Tim’s role with the City of Greater Bendigo is to coordinate and manage the strategic landscape development of the City. Tim is overseeing the preparation of the Master Plan for the Bendigo Botanic Gardens in addition to designing and managing key civic spaces in the City.
Kevin Walsh is a qualified horticulturist and garden designer. Early in his career he worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and on the rejuvenation of the Malmsbury Botanic Gardens. After spending 23 years in private practice as a consultant and garden designer, he has returned to botanic gardens to work on the Master Plan for the Bendigo Botanic Gardens. He has written for numerous publications and also edited Royal Horticultural Society books for Australian conditions. Kevin is also the author of Waterwise Gardening, the fourth edition of which has just been released.

Andrew Carrick

Manager, Adelaide Botanic Garden

Water management – Botanic Garden responsibilities

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Adelaide Botanic Garden, South Australia, is situated in a Mediterranean climatic zone with an average rainfall of approximately 550 mm per year. Rainfall is predominantly during the winter months with very little falling on average during the summer months, coupled with very low relative humidity levels.  A number of measures have been undertaken within the Adelaide Botanic Garden to reduce reliance on water. These developments have seen an increased emphasis on plant displays that have low water requirements as well as emphasis on water harvesting, recycling and reuse. Plant displays are continually reviewed to determine those most appropriate for the local conditions while still providing an aesthetic environment for visitors to enjoy, learn and discover. Lawn areas have undergone dramatic change with approximately 30% allowed to dry off during the dry summer months.  Alternate water sources, in particular through aquifer storage and reuse (ASR), potentially provide a long-term water proofing strategy.

Andrew Carrick is Manager Adelaide Botanic Garden with responsibility for all day to day horticultural and maintenance operations. A prime element of this current role is water resource management including infrastructure upgrade utilising current technological advances to improve water application and usage efficiency.

Richard Cassels

Director, Climate Leadership

Is your botanic garden ready for a 9 billion-humans world? A short, illustrated look at the past and future of human sustainability.

PRESENTATION [PDF]

In my lifetime the world’s human population has increased from 2.8 billion people to nearly 7 billion today. I may live to see it passing 8 billion. Many of our major botanic gardens were created between 1750 and 1880, when the human population first passed 1 billion. Then it took 10,000 years to go from 1 million humans to 1 billion humans. Now it takes 12 to 13 years to add a billion. So are the concepts and values of the I billion-person world still the right ones as we plan for a 9 billion-person world in 2040?

Richard Cassels is Director of Climate Leadership, an active consultancy and community group in Brisbane. He convened the Greenfest Speakers Festival in 2008, the “Climate Change Down Under” public seminar in 2007 and the “Pioneering a Sustainable Queensland” lecture series in 2006 –both the latter at the Queensland Museum. His 25 year career in museums included holding the positions of Director of Exhibitions and Publications at the Queensland Museum and Director of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. As a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Prehistory at the University of Auckland he carried out research into prehistoric people and their environments in New Zealand. He trained as an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge and worked in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He is a keen bird watcher. His wife Joan is a keen gardener, experienced community facilitator, a partner in Climate Leadership and a driving force behind the building of two “sustainable” houses in Brisbane. 

Richard Cassels

Director, Climate Leadership

Managing botanic gardens (and other museums) for the challenge of sustainability.

In the last episode of the television series “Around the World in 80 Gardens”, the presenter Monty Don, visits a Balinese temple with its beautiful and purposeful garden. He asks the temple custodian what their philosophy is.  The custodian replies “It is to bring into harmony our relationship with nature, each other and our gods”.   This is a nice description of the triple goals of sustainable management- managing for environmental, socio-economic and a meaningful sustainability.When it comes to environmental sustainability, no-one can doubt that our society has a truckload of trouble heading our way.  This presentation looks at the challenges for human sustainability and implications for Botanic Gardens and other museums. 

Richard Cassels is Director of Climate Leadership, an active consultancy and community group in Brisbane. He convened the Greenfest Speakers Festival in 2008, the “Climate Change Down Under” public seminar in 2007 and the “Pioneering a Sustainable Queensland” lecture series in 2006 –both the latter at the Queensland Museum. His 25 year career in museums included holding the positions of Director of Exhibitions and Publications at the Queensland Museum and Director of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. As a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Prehistory at the University of Auckland he carried out research into prehistoric people and their environments in New Zealand. He trained as an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge and worked in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. He is a keen bird watcher. 

Gary Crilley and Emily Moskwa

Director, Centre for Tourism and Leisure Management, University of South Australia

Does visitor service quality at regional gardens differ by visitors’ age and activities undertaken

PRESENTATION [PDF]

This presentation outlines the results from one of very few monitoring studies of visitors to botanic gardens in a geopolitical region (Australia & New Zealand). The study included gathering profiles of the visitors and their perceptions of service quality attributes at five regional botanic gardens from different Australian states and New Zealand.  Additionally, the study highlights the range of activities visitors engage in and the perceived level of service quality by the visitors’ ages.  The implications from the study include, sometimes for the first time, the ability for managers of regional gardens to discuss common issues of visits based on a systematic approach to gathering data, data analysis, and the interpretation of results across properties. At the gardens involved, staffs now have credible information to use as input for decision making in for example, targeted marketing, staff training and development, operational expenditures, event programming, and specific education and engagement strategies.  

Gary Crilley is director of the Centre for Tourism & Leisure Management and has been involved in applied research projects since 1990. The best known of these is a benchmarking program with specific instruments to use in studies of visitor service quality monitoring, and operational management measures for programs and organisations in a range of tourism and leisure services. Collaborative contract research has involved numerous partners and organisation including Adelaide Shores, BGANZ members, Zoos SA, numerous protected area agencies, and hundreds of managers of local government aquatic and leisure facilities in Australia and New Zealand.

Anne Duncan

BGANZ Council Member

The future of BGANZ – workshop

PRESENTATION [PDF]

BGANZ is 5 years young. We have an Executive Officer, a website, a newsletter, and now regional groups are emerging. It is timely to review where BGANZ is at and think about where it wants to go and what it should be doing to get there.   Some of the questions which need to be considered include: Where does BGANZ want to be in 2 years time? What is feasible and achievable? What kinds of benefits/services should BGANZ be providing? How do we provide those benefits and services? How should BGANZ grow its membership? Does BGANZ need a business plan and if so what should be in it?  An open workshop/discussion session is planned to discuss these and other questions, to find out what members want, where they want BGANZ to go and discuss what they are willing to do to help it get there.  The results of an email survey of members and collation of comments/ suggestions from people not attending will be presented.

Anne Duncan was previously Director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. She has twenty five years experience in land and conservation management at national, State, regional and remote community levels and across the full range of contexts, from agricultural and forestry production landscapes to National Parks and World Heritage and most recently the ex-situ conservation role of botanic gardens. Anne was born in Scotland, educated in Australia, and has Bachelors and Honors degrees in Forestry and Science from the Australian National University and University of Tasmania, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne.

Anne Duncan

BGANZ Council Member

A national collection initiative for Australia – what can regional botanic gardens contribute?

PRESENTATION [PDF]

In November 2008  a Strategy and Action Plan for the Role of Botanic Gardens in Adapting to Climate Change was endorsed as a nationally significant initiative by the Commonwealth and State and Territory Ministers for Natural Resource Management.  The Strategy has been adopted by BGANZ and provides a clear framework for gardens – identifying where they can contribute to a national response to climate change.  With the increasing popularity of Regional gardens and the use of native species, they could be significant contributor to some of the strategy’s goals. One of the goals is “to deliver integrated and easily accessible information about Australian plants”. Bringing information on our collections together could create a virtual  “national collection” which could contribute to ex-situ biodiversity conservation and be used to engage and raise awareness of the role of gardens and sustainable living. The idea of an “Australian National Collection”, will be explored in relation to regional botanic gardens and similar initiatives in other nations discussed.

Anne Duncan was previously Director of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. She has twenty five years experience in land and conservation management at national, State, regional and remote community levels and across the full range of contexts, from agricultural and forestry production landscapes to National Parks and World Heritage and most recently the ex-situ conservation role of botanic gardens. Anne was born in Scotland, educated in Australia, and has Bachelors and Honors degrees in Forestry and Science from the Australian National University and University of Tasmania, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne.

Rewi Elliot

Curator / Manager, Otari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton’s Bush Reserve

Wilderness in Wellywood.

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Otari (Wellington, New Zealand) is the only public botanic garden in the world dedicated solely to New Zealand native plants. It includes 100ha of regenerating forest and plant collections.   A short history is provided, leading to current objectives summarised as ‘to represent and describe New Zealand native flora’. The framework for this is outlined as conservation, education, recreation and destination.  How Otari contributes to the conference theme within this framework is discussed including celebrating plants in a garden; ex-situ populations of threatened species; provision of plants, advice and partnerships; and conservation of the forest in-situ.  Questions about the future are discussed in conclusion:  How can Otari’s ex-situ threatened species better contribute to survival in the wild?  Maintaining threatened populations’ in-situ. How far might this be extended for Otari?  The cute and cuddly. How might attitudes to Wellington’s vegetation areas change if flightless birds were reintroduced with civic pride? Attitudes and ethics regarding plants and restoration. Culture of shame and romanticism?

For the past three years Rewi Elliot has been Manager/Curator at Otari Native Botanic Garden, which includes management of the Bush City exhibit at Te Papa National Museum of NZ. Rewi was previously employed at Wellington Botanic gardens for five years and has been a council member of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network for the past year.
Rewi’s previous public speaking experience includes interest groups; presentations for Young Horticulturist of the Year 2006; public presentations for Wellington City Council events, adult learning seminars, speaker at Wellington Botanical Society meetings, and presentation of a paper at the 2007 BGANZ Conference in Hamilton.

Nicky Fidler

Horticultural Curator, Mt Lofty Botanic Garden, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide

Title: Weed Risk Assessment of Collections – The Botanic Garden Experience

PRESENTATION [PDF]

A list of plant taxa within the collections of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide (BGA) was screened for a weed history in climates similar to South Australia. Three groups of species were selected for further review and assessment using weed risk assessment software (WRAP) developed for Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand Inc (BGANZ): those taxa known to be cultivated in Australia only in the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide’s collections; those identified by horticultural staff and other knowledgeable people as weedy; and those from plant families with a high proportion of weedy taxa.  Approximately 165 taxa were identified by the processes outlined above. All exotic species were subjected to WRAP analysis. From the WRAP score, the decision matrix built into the software was applied and management recommendations made. In light of the WRAP management recommendations, BGA protocols for managing weedy species were also reviewed.

Nicky joined the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, Mt Lofty Garden in 2000 as the result of an irresistible offer from the then Manager of Mt Lofty Botanic Garden to look after Mt Lofty's fern collection, the most comprehensive in-ground fern collection in the southern hemisphere. She was appointed Horticultural Curator in 2008.  Married to a geologist and juggling raising a family in various parts of Australia and overseas, Nicky had a varied career in botany, having graduated BSc from Adelaide University with majors in botany and biochemistry. In the 1980s she took advantage of a move to Brisbane to enroll in a second science degree at the University of Queensland to learn more about the newly emerging fields of computer science and molecular biology, followed by an Honours year and then PhD, with research and teaching in plant molecular biology. Nicky moved back to Adelaide in 1994, where she worked at Flinders University School of Biological Science and CSIRO Plant Industry, Horticulture Division before joining the Gardens.

Sabine Glissmann-Gough

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Delivering Living Collections Information online

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The Living Collections data at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (RBGM) is a result of over 100 years of continuous data collection. Identifying, compiling and verifying the data is a collaborative effort involving a number of staff across the organisation. This information is essential to the operation of the Botanic Gardens particularly in monitoring its rare and endangered and biogeographic collections. To manage this wealth of information computer based databases are indispensable and over the last two decades the complexity in running and maintaining them has undergone a number of key developments. The current system is able to locate individual specimens accurately for curatorial and educational purposes using an in-house developed database and GIS mapping system. Until recently outputs from the database were not available to a wider audience. Since March 2008 the information is available online enabling searches of our collections. Listed specimens can easily be located using an online map.

Sabine Glissmann-Gough is the Manager Information Services at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. She has a background in applied horticulture, landscape planning and geographic information systems and one of her roles in the last 19 years with the RBGM was the digitasation of the living plant collections and the ongoing development of the living plant database. The most recent achievement she was involved in is the online plant census. Records from the living plant database can be queried and displayed on the Melbourne Site map. This achievement was rewarded with the Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Award 2008 from the Public Records Office of Victoria.

Merilyn Haigh

Visitor Services Officer, Tondoon Botanic Gardens Gladstone

More than a Botanic Garden – engaging a community to bring plants to life

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Tondoon Botanic Gardens, an integral part of the Regional Port City of Gladstone, Queensland, Tondoon is a unique Regional Native Botanic Garden maintaining a scientific collection of Native Regional Plant Species all of which are from local provenance, including the Port Curtis Region in Central Queensland and Tropical Far North Queensland.  Established in 1984, the area of the Garden is 83 hectares, which includes 21 hectares of developed display, and 4 hectares of Lake, the remainder being natural bushland.    Gladstone, a modern highly industrialised City with a largely transient highly fluctuating population of 28,000+ and a regional centre to another 34,000, has been the recipient of a host of accolades including State Winner of Tidy Towns 2002 and Tidiest Industrial City in Australia 2003.  The Gladstone Region is not only being developed as a major port, underpinned by coal exports and a hub for light metals processing, but is also an area of significant visitor interest.  Highlighted by its hinterland, subtropical coastline and continental islands, Gladstone is one of the southern gateways to one of the seven natural wonders of the world namely the Great Barrier Reef.

Merilyn Haigh is the Visitor Services Officer of Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens, where she has been part of the Gardens Team for over fourteen years.  Her role in the Garden involves the formulation and delivery of environmental education programmes for Schools, Co-ordinator of Garden Events, Interpretation, Visitation and Co-ordinator/Trainer for Friends of the Garden Visitor Services Volunteers.  In 2006 a highlight for Merilyn was presenting her paper at BGCI'S 6TH  International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens in Oxford, United Kingdom.    Other achievements include in 2004 as a Finalist for the Central Queensland Training Awards, and Special Recognition Winner of the Individual Tourist Industry Employee for the Central/Queensland & Southern Reef Tourism Awards.    Her favourite past time at Tondoon is delivering "hands on learning" in the Garden to our littlest citizens ensuring that Children leave with lasting memories about conserving their environment and caring for nature.  At the present time, her passion is devoted to developing Community Outreach Programmes to connect the community and visitors alike to Tondoon.  Merilyn's studies include Tourism, Guiding/Interpretation and Event Management.

Chris Hall

Coordinator, Barossa Bushgardens

Regional Biodiversity Conservation at Barossa Bushgardens.

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Barossa Bushgardens Regional Native Flora Centre in the Barossa Valley SA is a business-focused community organisation. It is an example of a model for regional biodiversity conservation based on a three-way partnership between local government, State government and community. Where else can you go in your part of the country and find a local native plant nursery with in situ urban display gardens on the one site?  The integration of nursery and gardens has advantages in terms of income generation, volunteer involvement and customer satisfaction.

Chris Hall is one of the founders of Barossa Bushgardens. He is a project officer with the Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board in the Barossa Valley SA, where he helps train teachers in sustainability. He is also a secondary teacher and has worked extensively in European as well as South Australian schools.

Philip Moors

Director and Chief Executive, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Welcome to delegates

In his professional career Philip has devoted more than 30 years to researching and promoting wildlife and conservation in a wide range of positions, including as Director of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (now Birds Australia), and as current Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. In the past years his achievements range from the implementation of major new innovative programs and capital developments in visitor services to cultural activities and tourism, plant biodiversity and urban ecology research, education, and fundraising and revenue generation. As Inaugural President of Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand Phil has successfully overseen the formation of an umbrella organisation that aims to represent and promote the interests and activities of botanic gardens in both these countries and botanic gardens generally, and to enhance the state of botanic gardens for the benefit of the community. At the same time Phil continues to be closely involved with many research and environmental organizations too numerous to mention here. He is also the author or joint author of 45 research papers in international and local journals, and editor of a book on the conservation of island birds. In recognition of his services to the community through conservation and the environment he was awarded the Centenary Medal 2003.

Donna Osland

Community Education Officer, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

Getting the message across – creative ways to inspire the public.

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Botanic Gardens are ideal places to educate the community on the impact of humans on the environment and vice versa through engaging interpretation and public programs. This presentation will look at creative ways in which the Botanic Gardens Trust uses public programs to deliver messages to the visitors so that they not only have a greater appreciation of plants but are also a greater understanding of climate change, heritage, sustainability and conservation.

Donna started working at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney in 1996. She has taught in the schools program, developed curriculum based lessons and developed and delivered public programs.  Since 2003 Donna has managed the Volunteer Guides Program at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, still loves teaching all age groups  and is on a number of project teams including the ‘Children’s Garden’ project team.

Peter Patterson

Business Development Manager, Replas

Sustainable Solutions out of Waste

PRESENTATION [PDF]

This special presentation will focus on the use of waste materials in a wide range of robust applications and will put forward the proposition that we should be protecting and preserving our natural resources and using alternative materials, particularly within Botanic Gardens wherever possible. Recycled Plastic provides a robust, versatile and maintenance-free range of options. Signage, boardwalks, posts and park furniture are among the many products made from Recycled Plastic. The product works in all sorts of conditions: loves the wet, loves the dry. As part of the national community we have a collective obligation to deal with the waste we create and dispose of. We cannot continue to handball the problem to someone else. 

Peter is the National Business Development Manager for Replas and has been with the company for over 4 years. Replas is one of Australia’s leading plastic recycling companies. The company uses plastic waste from domestic and industrial sources to make a wide variety of products from large range of outdoor applications. Peter has been instrumental in the growth of the company and has actively sought likeminded businesses to promote recycling. Peter has been involved in a range of innovative businesses and presents at a range of industry forums on environmental issues. Peter is passionate about the environment and impact of waste on its quality. Peter will share his ideas on how communities can use their waste more effectively and preserve our natural resources.

Chris Russell

Director, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne

Liar liar, plants on fire!  Managing the risk of fire in a botanic garden on the edge of suburbia

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The horrific fires of the 2009 Victorian summer have highlighted the immense forces that nature can unleash given the right mix of environmental factors.  In south eastern Australia, the prevailing summer weather pattern sees high pressure systems moving slowly across the Tasman Sea, forcing hot dry winds from the north of the continent to the tinder box of fuels in the south east of the mainland.  White Australians have lived with fire for decades, but even with the experience of the wildfire holocaust of Black Friday in 1939 and Ash Wednesday in 1983, we struggle to live with fire as a seasonal norm.  The impact of climate change is predicted to increase the incidence of extreme fire weather days into the future.  The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne (RBGC) is a 363 hectare site increasingly surrounded by residential development.  Two thirds of the site is covered with high quality, fire prone bushland.  As such, fire management at RBGC presents the challenges of managing the risk of fire to people and property, the use of fire as an important ingredient in the maintenance of biodiversity, and the management of community perceptions and expectations regarding fire on their doorstep.  This paper explores how RBGC has responded to these complex, and sometimes conflicting management challenges.

Chris Russell is the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne (RBGC), a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne that is dedicated to the conservation, research, education and display of Australian plants and ecosystems.  This includes the newly developed Australian Garden, showcasing Australia’s remarkable plants and landscapes in an artistic and architectural setting.  Chris has experience in the fields of public garden management, natural resource management, tourism and education, coupled with tertiary qualifications including a Science degree with Honours and a Graduate Diploma in Land Rehabilitation.   This combination provides Chris with broad insight into the challenges facing contemporary botanic gardens.  

John Sandham

Collections Development Officer, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide

User friendly Living Collections management software

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Botanic gardens worldwide have the same dilemma of choosing software tools to record their collections. User friendliness must be carefully considered when selecting a database. Intuitive user front-ends will result in a system that staff, volunteers and the wider community can easily and comfortably use with little or no training.  Building a user front-end that can be tailored to accommodate many groups of people is essential. This can be then accepted and used by a wide audience. Many databases have a single user front-end to be all things to all people, however this simply creates confusion and frustration. Building a user front-end for specific groups e.g. friends of a botanic garden, staff, or general public enables a focused design, which is free of clutter and unnecessary confusion.  

John Sandham is the Collections Development Officer for the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide. His role develops criteria for the living collections and their required outcomes for interpretation and educational themes. This position consults with the wider garden community and facilitates contribution in developing the Living Collection Policy. The position also oversees the “Living Collections” development and manages procurement and accessioning of new material as well as maintaining the extensive plant records and labelling required by the Botanic Gardens.

John Sandham

Collections Development Officer, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide

OOPS! On the Outer and Plant Selections

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The Sustainable Landscapes Project (SLP) is a collaborative partnership hosted by the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and involving land development companies, natural resources management agencies, the state water authority and local government.  A set of principles relating to all aspects of landscape sustainability facilitates our work with government, developers, industry groups, education organisations and community.  Several demonstration landscapes have been designed and created in association with land managers, some in regional areas dealing with severe water shortages and infrastructure challenges. The award winning Loxton Mill Corner sustainable landscape, involving diverse sectors of the community including the Port Augusta Arid Lands Botanic Garden, is a highly successful and influential regional project presented here as a case-study.  The Landscapes Alive Plant Selector is an extraordinary web tool, designed by the SLP in partnership with the Local Government Research and Development Scheme, to facilitate the selection of appropriate site-specific low water use and non invasive plants for all landscaping purposes, including parks, gardens and other public and private spaces.

John Sandham is the Collections Development Officer for the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide. His role develops criteria for the living collections and their required outcomes for interpretation and educational themes. This position consults with the wider garden community and facilitates contribution in developing the Living Collection Policy. The position also oversees the “Living Collections” development and manages procurement and accessioning of new material as well as maintaining the extensive plant records and labelling required by the Botanic Gardens.

Paul Scannell

Curator and Natural Areas Coordinator, Albury Botanic Gardens

From concept to construction: The Albury Botanic Gardens children’s garden project

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The combined use of a questionnaire, forum and working group meeting proved to be a wonderful process for gathering the communities input into the proposed Albury Children’s Garden.  This brief was given to the successful design consultant, plans prepared and construction is now in its first phase. Within the brief, many features and activities were more popular, like water, sensory experience, exploring and vegetable growing. In addition, there were some fantastic original and creative suggestions, which people would likewise hope to see incorporated into the design. Whilst understandably not all the ideas could be included in the design this brief provided a guide for the consultant, into what the community of Albury would like incorporated into the plan for the Children’s Garden. This design brief highlights the enthusiasm of the community towards a worthwhile project, which will be an exciting place to encourage a child’s creativity, imagination, knowledge and sense of wonder.

Paul Scannell is Curator and Natural Areas Coordinator at Albury Botanic Gardens.  Paul started gardening at the age of 9 for pocket money and loved going down to the local creek to hunt for lizards and snakes.  He attended Burnley Horticultural College in Melbourne and gained the Diploma of Horticultural Science in 1977. Paul has worked in the Albury Botanic Gardens and Albury’s bushland for the past twenty years and is passionate about the Botanic Gardens, nature, the bush and all the treasures it holds and educating children about the environment. Paul is a member of the Council of Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand and a member of the National Parks and Wildlife Service Recovery Team for Caladenia concolor.

David Sole

Manager, Botanic Gardens of Wellington

Regional Reality: Do we have a role to play?

PRESENTATION [PDF]

As a city garden reflecting on our community objectives, those of BGANZ and of BGCI we are  considering how we might contribute to regional programmes and in what capacity. In doing so, we begin to realise the gap between good intentions and actions.  As we further explore the problem there is a traceable history of environmental and ecological devastation in Oceania. Exacerbated by the injection of western culture and values we see island states in need of knowledge and skills – often to replace lost traditional knowledge or else to reaffirm its validity. Botanic Gardens have competent, well trained staff. Increasingly they embrace roles modelling and enacting sustainability, community engagement and become more and more immersed in biodiversity through recognition, planning and restoration.   By combining the Botanic Gardens with communities of interest and government we can help provide solutions to crises in environmental and ecological management right at the interface of people and the land at home.

David Sole is the Manager of the Botanic Gardens of Wellington, a cluster of four botanic gardens across the city of Wellington.  He comes from a background in horticulture and landscape. In his current role, apart from the day to day administration of the gardens, is increasingly focussing on aligning strategic outcomes with communities of interest. He currently chairs the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and has contributed to BGANZ from its early days and more latterly as one of the New Zealand board members.

Lucy Sutherland

Australian National Botanic Gardens

Sustainable botanic gardens: a myth or a reality?

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Recent international guidelines for botanic gardens suggest they should be models of good environmental practice and centres for sustainability.  The concept of sustainability has been bandied around for the past two decades and continues to be open to interpretation.  This presentation will deconstruct the principles of sustainability and apply them to a botanic garden context to examine the potential of these institutions in terms of environmental, social and economic responsibility.  A range of case studies from around the world will be used to consider if sustainable botanic gardens are a myth or a reality.

Lucy Sutherland is passionate about botanic gardens and started her career working in Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens and later worked for Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).  While with BGCI, Lucy was co-author and principal editor of the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation (Wyse Jackson and Sutherland 2000), which was adopted by the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity as a contribution to the Global Plant Strategy for Plant Conservation by the world’s botanic gardens.  Lucy’s practical botanic gardens experience is supported by her academic work and she studied for a research Masters by examining visitor services, interpretation and education policies and practices in Australia’s botanic gardens.  Furthermore, her PhD involved the examination of the role of botanic gardens in Less Developed Countries (South Africa, Cuba and Belize) in sustainable nature-based tourism and its contribution to conservation and sustainable development.  Lucy is now the Assistant Director (Policy and Strategic Planning ) for the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Peter Symes

Curator Environmental Horticulture, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Rethinking Botanic Gardens in the Face of Climate Change – Perspectives on Planning, Landscape Design, and Implementation

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Climate change is projected to have significant affects on south-eastern Australia, due to the concentration of development in coastal areas, relative aridity of existing climate compared to others around the world, and lack of altitudinal and or geographical “escape paths” for flora as temperatures shift. Regardless of water supply issues, increases in annual mean temperature may threaten the effective physiology of plant taxa adapted to previously cooler conditions, whether these are growing in natural or artificial habitats. Successful adaptation strategies for the management of plant conservation, living landscapes and planning for vegetation succession need to address both temperature rise and uncertain water supply.  In October 2008, the author completed a 4-week research tour of numerous botanic gardens and public landscapes in south-western USA to evaluate strategies for long-term planning and management. Conclusions drawn from this research and its application to garden landscapes of south-eastern Australia will be the focus of the presentation.

Peter is employed as Curator, Environmental Horticulture at RBG Melbourne. His position includes technical advisory responsibilities to support RBG management and staff with plant biosecurity, landscape soil protection, irrigation and water management, plant selection methodologies, and environmental site analysis for project development.   He is currently working with the University of Melbourne and industry in a partnership project to quantify actual plant water use using soil moisture sensors. Peter is also working with Monash University studying rainfall interception by tree canopies in the Gardens and the impact of changing climates upon the soil water balance.

Mark Webb

CEO, Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority WA

Botanic Gardens and their role in climate change resilience

PRESENTATION [PDF]

Climate change is forecast to significantly and negatively impact on the distribution and survival of many plant species. The 2006 ‘Grand Canaria Declaration II on Climate Change and Plant Conservation’ identifies that “observed changes on species and ecosystems are already significant and predictive models indicate that a substantial proportion of species will go extinct within 50 to 80 years due to loss of suitable habitat.” If such an outcome eventuated, the impact on humanity would be catastrophic, and urgent action is required to prevent this happening.  Botanic Gardens provide a safety net for plant species through ex situ conservation, especially many regional botanic gardens with their focus on local species. They can play an increasingly important role in community education on the impact of climate change on plants, and through research provide information about the resilience of plants to climate change.  The role and function of botanic gardens in climate change resilience and in related and potentially controversial activities such as assisted migration will be illustrated by examples.

Mark has a background in research, farming, management and business, and has a special interest in the development of Australian plants for ornamental horticulture.  He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, which manages Kings Park and Botanic Garden and Bold Park in Perth, Western Australia.

Laurie Smith

PRESENTATION [PDF]

The Regional Botanic Gardens of Queensland