BCARM webinar: Advocating for our gardens – the hidden pressures on our living collections

This webinar is one of our Botanic Gardens Month professional development events in the lead up to Botanic Gardens Day on 26 May. The theme for Botanic Gardens Day this year is More than a garden ... protecting our plants and landscapes.

This webinar hopes to delve into the approaches to events held within our botanic gardens and the strategies employed by gardens in supporting their living collections. It will explore various event approaches, our means of supporting them, and the associated benefits and expenses incurred in caring for and curating our living collections throughout the event lifecycle. We will look into strategies for managing staff and how they assess and handle this impact, addressing the sustainability and pressures exerted by events on our landscapes. Ultimately, we aim to demonstrate how such events cannot only enrich our understanding of botanic gardens but also raise awareness of the significance of our living collections, thereby fostering appreciation and support for our botanical endeavours.

Presenters:

• Ali Smith, Technical Officer, and Pete Lewis, Assistant Curator Horticultural Displays, Kings Park and Botanic Gardens
• John Sandham, Collection Development Officer, Botanic Gardens of South Australia
• Damian Wrigley, Manager, Living Collections & Conservation at Botanic Garden of Sydney
• Barbara Wheeler, Curator at Auckland Botanic Garden.