Humanity faces significant challenges due to environmental change, and as plants are essential to our survival, living collections play a crucial role in demonstrating conservation values and plant benefits. The BGANZ Living Collections Toolkit (LCT) was developed to promote best practice management of plant collections, helping Botanic Gardens adapt to a changing world while continuing to provide vital services. Aligned with this year’s theme of advancing innovation and leadership in Botanic Gardens, the LCT offers robust decision support for modern challenges in collections management.

By building capacity among staff and volunteers across Australia and New Zealand, the toolkit strengthens organisational resilience and leadership. It provides a flexible model for creating sustainable Living Collections Plans, enabling both individual and collaborative implementation within the BGANZ network. The LCT also supports professional development, prioritisation of collections, educational approaches, and evidence-based funding applications.

The workshop will showcase practical applications of the LCT through case studies from three Botanic Gardens of varying scale. These case studies will highlight successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Participants will engage in discussions on current collections management practices and explore the future direction of the toolkit, including the introduction of new modules. This session will equip attendees with practical strategies for applying the toolkit in their own gardens and improving their Living Collections planning and management.