Where Shade Hits the Pavement Conference 2026 - Sydney
2026 Presenters
Where Shade Hits the Pavement 2026 will bring together thought leaders in ecology, science, design, livability, engineering, resource management, economics, strategy, planning and development.
Where Shade Hits The Pavement 2026 Presenters
Jess Miller
Opening Address Councillor Jess Miller is the Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney. She serves as Deputy Chair of the Transport, Heritage & Planning Committee and is a member of the Cycling Advisory Panel and Nightlife & Creative Industries Panel. A former TEDxSydney curator and speaker, Jess is also a board member of the National Art School.
Michael Rose AM
Closing Address Michael is an independent director whose work spans several key sectors in Sydney. He is Chair of the Committee for Sydney, Chair of Greater Sydney Parklands, President of the Art Gallery of NSW, and Chair of Northwest Rapid Transit, the private partner in Sydney’s Metro system. Michael is also Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney, chairs the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, and is Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia.
David Jenkins
David has over fifteen years of Oceania experience in senior leadership roles, including CEO, General Manager, and Country Head. He is currently the CEO of IPWEA Australasia, a role he has held for four years. David is recognised as a thought leader in infrastructure asset management, speaking at the Sydney Morning Herald Infrastructure Summit and major events hosted by the Institute of Civil Engineers (UK), the Institute of Asset Management, the Institute of Municipal Engineering of South Africa, and the Government Finance Officers Association (USA). He has published articles in the New Zealand Herald and regularly contributes to Government News. David has an EMBA from the University of Auckland, a postgraduate degree from the University of Oxford, and a degree from the University of London. He is on the Board of IFME (International Federation of Municipal Engineering) and chairs the Technical Committee. David also hosts IPWEA’s Infrastructure Matters podcast, where he interviews international thought leaders on water, roading infrastructure, and asset management.
Sam Kernaghan
Sam is dedicated to advancing resilient and inclusive cities. With over two decades of experience across Asia, Oceania, and the United States, he has collaborated with governments, businesses, and communities to address climate risk and accelerate the climate transition. Currently serving as Director of Resilience at the Committee for Sydney, Sam previously held senior roles at Arup, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Asian Development Bank. His work reflects a commitment to place-based solutions, systemic change, and long-term impact. Sam is a Non-Executive Director of Green Cross Australia, a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and Adjunct Professor (Industry) at the University of Technology Sydney.
Barbara Schaffer
Barbara Schaffer is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (FRLA) and is Principal Landscape Architect for Government Architect NSW. Since graduating in landscape architecture from the University of New South Wales, she has held positions in private practice and state government and is the recipient of state and national awards for her built work and contribution to landscape architecture, education, and the profession. With over twenty-five years of experience, Barbara has a strong track record in strategic planning, design, and the delivery of complex, high-profile public places within both government and private sector contexts. She is the project lead for the Sydney Green Grid, Greener Places, and Biodiversity in Place — design-led green infrastructure strategies for metropolitan Sydney and NSW.
Sebastian Pfautsch
Sebastian Pfautsch is a Professor of Urban Management and Planning at Western Sydney University. He is also the President of the Australasian Green Infrastructure Network (AGIN), the peak body of the green infrastructure sector in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. By combining his knowledge of urban planning, material science, plant ecophysiology, and climate change, he develops evidence-based solutions that help cities adapt to rising summer heat. His projects have won multiple awards for innovation, sustainability, and technology, and his research is documented in 150 published works. He has generated $18 million in research funding and is listed in the top 2% of scientists worldwide (Stanford University and Elsevier).
Dr. Thami Croeser
Thami is an urban planner focused on bringing nature back into cities in practical, large-scale ways. He actively advocates for converting heavily asphalted streetscapes into tree-lined green corridors to help cities handle future heat waves and floods while reconnecting urban residents with native flora and fauna. His highly applied research blends urban design, urban greening, and geospatial analysis to show how cities can accelerate policy implementation in urban forestry, climate adaptation, and urban ecology.
Ross Mills
Ross Mills is Coordinator of Open Space Assets at Randwick City Council. His recent work integrates greening into major city-shaping infrastructure through collaboration with Transport for NSW, Major Projects Canberra, NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, and Western Sydney Airport. A Registered Landscape Architect (AILA) and former Green Building Council expert reference panel member for nature and biodiversity, Ross develops integrated planting strategies for large-scale urban greening. He is progressing a citywide green grid a connected network of canopy-covered, active open spaces to strengthen biodiversity, climate resilience, and everyday walkability across Randwick.
Gwilyn Griffiths
Gwilym Griffiths is the founder of Good Canopy Company. He is an Urban Forester who supports local governments across Australia to plan and deliver better tree canopy outcomes. With over 20 years of experience in both government and private sectors, Gwilym has developed a unique approach that balances strategic foresight with practical solutions. He works with councils nationally on urban forest strategies, canopy target-setting, prioritisation, policy, and organisational reviews that strengthen alignment of resources, service levels, and best-practice tree asset management.
Karenne Jurd
As Environmental Asset Manager at the City of Newcastle, Karenne champions nature-based solutions in urban forest management that enhance biodiversity, support community wellbeing, and build climate resilience. In 2025, her decades of contribution were recognised with an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Newcastle. Since moving into local government in 2000, Karenne has driven transformative approaches to catchment and urban water cycle management, securing multimillion-dollar investment to demonstrate innovative, sustainable construction and community engagement outcomes. She has pioneered natural asset accounting systems, starting with the urban forest, that now underpin more than $10 million in annual investment in environmental asset renewal across Newcastle’s coastline, estuary, and urban forest.
Tamara Donellan
Tamara is a Studio Director of ASPECT’s Sydney Studio and has over twenty-five years’ experience working across architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture. She has a history of leading and delivering large-scale, complex urban and strategy projects and is a Registered Architect. Tamara has worked on numerous strategic, urban, and master planning projects from inception through to management and delivery. She has been a member of the GANSW State Design Review Panel since 2019. Through this involvement, she champions high-quality place and public benefit outcomes.
Mark Leibman
Mark, a Chartered Professional Engineer, is a founding Director of Sustainability Workshop with degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering (First Class Honours, UTS) and Economics (University of Sydney). He has over 25 years of experience and is a recognised thought leader and innovator in the water and environment arena, having worked on projects in Australia, the Republic of Georgia, China, and the UK. Since 2020, he has worked with Blacktown Council and Ocean Protect on a bioretention monitoring project, which is the subject of a PhD he is undertaking with Western Sydney University. Mark has helped pioneer water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) in Australia, with expertise in water quality management, modelling, and treatment train design. He was a lead author of the Blacktown WSUD standard drawings, which focus heavily on bioretention systems and passively irrigated street trees. He has worked closely with Citygreen to develop standard design approaches and support mainstream adoption of passively irrigated street trees.
Dylan Parker
Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker is a proud Central Ward Councillor. The son of a small business owner and a nurse, his parents instilled in him the importance of public service from an early age. He began his career assisting public housing tenants and advocating on their behalf, and brings more than a decade of experience working in government. Mayor Parker is passionate about housing affordability, delivering cost-of-living relief, and protecting the environment. He has served as a Central Ward Councillor for Randwick City since first being elected in 2017.
Prof Thomas Astell-Burt
Professor Thomas Astell-Burt is Professor of Cities and Planetary Health and Director of the Centre for Flourishing Cities at the University of Sydney. Thomas is ranked first out of over 10,000 scientists globally for his research on nature and health. He is a Clarivate Top 1% Highly Cited Researcher for three consecutive years and is listed in the Stanford-Elsevier Top 2% scientists worldwide. An Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow, he leads major national research programs exploring how nature-based interventions and urban design can help to address depression, diabetes, and dementia. As Co-Director of the Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab), Thomas’ work has informed urban greening strategies in Sydney, across Australia, and in hundreds of cities worldwide.
Mike Hewson
Special Appearance Mike Hewson is a visual artist with a background in structural engineering and heavy-civil construction. His award-winning projects pioneer new ways to merge conceptual art into the public realm. Hewson works to prove we can, in fact, do things that are considered untenable in a public setting. Each project aims to catalyse fresh conversation about how the bureaucratic and managerial aspects of power are shaping our public lives, asking whether we like that shape or would prefer to explore freer alternatives. He has completed five large-scale public art commissions in Australia, many of them sculpture-park-cum-playgrounds that are sensibly strange and risk-positive. Hewson received a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil Engineering from the University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand, in 2007 and a Master of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) from Columbia University, New York, in 2016.
Belinda Bean
Q&A Moderator Belinda Bean is the founder of Wilder Impact, a nature-positive strategy and communications consultancy helping governments, businesses, and communities turn big sustainability goals into action. She is Executive Director of the Australasian Green Infrastructure Network and Chair of the National Urban Green Infrastructure Roundtable, working nationally to advance greener, cooler, and more resilient cities. Known for her clear thinking and engaging facilitation style, Belinda brings systems thinking, storytelling, and practical insight to conversations about how nature-based solutions can shape better urban futures.
Rob Garland
Host Rob is senior Consultant at Citygreen International. Citygreen offers engineered systems to increase urban forest canopy and capture and treat stormwater successfully. These solutions are endorsed by professionals from both local government and private sectors - putting Citygreen at the cutting edge of the sustainable green and blue infrastructure solutions for cities, globally.
Description
WHERE SHADE HITS THE PAVEMENT is a green::blue urban infrastructure conference that brings thought leaders and practitioners together to align innovation, best practice and policy for greener, cooler, more livable cities.
This event is proudly brought to you by
What to Expect
Australia’s premier green::blue urban infrastructure conference is returning to Sydney in 2026, and it promises to be our best event yet.
Fresh Perspectives & New Strategies - unique thought leadership presentations that seek to remove barriers and provide pathways to greener, cooler, more liable cities.
How to Overcome Objections - learn how to overcome project, policy and budget challenges to create meaningful green space in our cities and suburbs.
Case Studies as Frameworks - real world examples of design innovation in projects that are achieving results sooner.
Q&A Panel Discussions - your burning questions answered in 3 x panel sessions throughout the day
Discover the Benefits of Green & Blue Integration - evolve your understanding of stormwater management and how trees are the key to $aving million$.
Demystifying Urban Heat Strategies - not all green is created equal. From species selection, to planting methods and soil types - you'll get an essentials framework for urban cooling.
Canopy Cover Reality Check - 2030 and 2050 Net Zero targets are coming! We’ll take stock of canopy cover progress and failures and gain insights about how to get back on track.
Exclusive immersive place making exhibition experience!
Delegates will enjoy a special bonus this year. Thanks to our partnership with the Art Gallery of NSW, Where Shade Hits the Pavement 2026 will close with an exclusive networking event that extends the conversations of the day into an extraordinary, immersive place making exhibition.
Where Ideas, Artistry, and Community Converge
When the conference concludes, you will be invited into the Tank - an underground WWII naval fuel bunker beneath the Art Gallery NSW that has been transformed into over 2,000sqm of immersive exhibition space.
Within its raw concrete walls and pillars, you’ll experience Mike Hewson’s remarkable exhibition, The Key’s Under the Mat, brought to life with salvaged recycled and recyclable materials, reborn into a full-scale playground and commons. Delegates will enjoy the rare opportunity to hear directly from the artist, while also invited to treat the space as their own - climb, swing, explore, eat, drink, and connect with fellow attendees in an environment designed for play, discovery and connection.
Citygreen are proud to be the major sponsor of this bold exhibition, which has been built upon a foundation of 100% recycled and recyclable Stratavault soil cells. This is not just another networking session. It is a celebration of ideas, artistry, and community, and a fitting close to a conference dedicated to improving the livability outcomes in our urban communities.
Don't miss this opportunity to be part of a unique and inspiring event that is redefining the future of our cities!
2026 Conference Timeline
Activity | Time |
|---|---|
Registration/Tea/Coffee | 8:00am - 8:45am |
Speaker Presentations | 9:00am - 5:15pm (includes breaks/meals) |
Networking/Drinks | 5:30pm - 6:30pm |
Cost to Attend
Where Shade Hits the Pavement is a conference event designed to make a difference, not a profit.
There are no advertisers or expo booths, just a focus on issues and methods to overcome them.
Full Price Tickets - $589
Group discounts:
15% discount available for groups of 3-4 people.
20% discount available for groups of 5-10 people.
Who Should Attend?
Local Government planners, designers, arborists, engineers and policy makers - this event will challenge your city standards and provide a pathway for better outcomes for your communities.
Landscape Architects - AILA members will receive 6 CPD points for attending. Expect to be inspired and receive practical examples relevant to the project challenges you frequently encounter.
Civil & Stormwater Engineers - this event will give you practical examples for the integration of green, blue and grey infrastructure for better outcomes.
Property Developers - this event will show you how to use green infrastructure for greater profitability.
Academics & Students - this event is where theory and application come together to challenge BAU.
Highlights from 2025
Hear what attendees, speakers and sponsors had to say about the 2025 Where Shade Hits the Pavement conference in Melbourne.
Early Bird Registration closed.
15-20% group discounts available via button below.
For event queries, please contact info@citygreen.com.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
