TEDxCanberra Adventure: Nature, place and public imagination in the Bush Capital

Cities don’t just happen. They’re shaped - step by step - by the decisions we make, the places we care about, and the people we listen to. So who’s shaping Canberra? And what might change if more of us took action?

Join TEDxCanberra, alumni speakers Mitch Porteous and Edwina Robinson, and Wildbark Visitor Centre for a unique experience that blends ecology, urban insight and future-focused design - set at the edge of one of Canberra’s most extraordinary landscapes.

You’ll begin the day with a guided ecological walk with a Wildbark Ranger through Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary, Australia’s largest single Box-gum Grassy-woodland area managed for conservation. This is a chance to slow down, take notice, and explore what nature might teach us about shaping place.

You’ll walk deep into the sanctuary - inside the predator-proof fence, where native animals are thriving in the absence of foxes and cats. You’ll observe various kangaroo and wallaby species feeding in their natural environment, and might be lucky enough to witness the echidnas.

Before we set out, we’ll ask what nature can teach us about how we build - and how its patterns might help us solve problems, design better spaces, and rethink what cities need.

After morning tea and casual conversation, you’ll head inside the Visitor Centre for a discovery session and collaborative design challenge, built for people who care about Canberra’s future and want to play an active role in shaping it.

Working in small groups, you’ll be given a real, overlooked site in Canberra - a laneway, park edge, car park or public corner. We’ll give you real-world constraints to work within - planning rules, land ownership, community dynamics - and prompts to guide your thinking. You’ll test ideas, be given the opportunity to pitch them back to the group, and have them visually captured. One standout concept will be showcased at TEDxCanberra’s flagship event in October.

Whether you’re working in planning, property, policy, design, or community life - or just deeply invested in the future of this city - you’ll walk away with new ideas, new allies, and a renewed sense of what’s possible.

Program timing

• 9:00am: Meet outside Wildbark Visitor Centre

• 9:15am - 10:30am: Guided walk through Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary

• 10:30am - 11:00am: Morning tea

• 11:00am - 1:00pm: Discovery session and design challenge

Your discovery session and design challenge facilitators

• Mitch Porteous is Co-founder and CEO of the Microforest Collective; and of a new venture improving how property projects are planned, navigated and delivered. With a background in placemaking, community development and tech startups, he brings a systems lens to city-building - connecting people, policy and projects.

• Edwina Robinson is a landscape architect and founder of The Climate Factory. She's been creating community-led native microforests since 2020. With Mitch and two others she cofounded the Microforest Collective in 2024 to create climate-cooling microforests across Australia. 

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About TEDx Adventures

TEDx Adventures are unique and intimate events designed to offer you unparalleled, behind-the-scenes access to the people and places making the local community so dynamic. As many of our adventures are purposely cross-generational, and open to all, we can stimulate conversations among people of all ages, professions and neighbourhoods.

Our partners

TEDxCanberra would not be possible without the generous support of our local and regional partners:

• Principal Partner - Synergy Group

• Venue Partner - Wildbark Visitor Centre

• Adventure Partners - Mitch Porteous and Edwina Robinson

• Creative Partner - Impress Design

• Media Partner - Region Canberra

• Production Partner - Dirty Deeds

• Celebration Partner - Capital Brewing Co

• Community Partners - Gavin Blake and Clockwork Advisory