BGANZ 2025 Program

Please note that this program is subject to change without notice.

Sunday 2 November

1500-1700

Tour of the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG)

1600-1800

Congress Registration Desk Open - Sunday

1600-1640

BARB - BQ: Come and join the BARB Arborists and tree managers for a sausage sizzle and tree people mingle

1630-1800

BGANZ 2025 Welcome Reception


Monday 3 November

0800-1800

Field Trips

  • 0800-1700 - Survive and Thrive: Australian Alpine Region and Namadgi National Park 
  • 0900-1630 – Horticulture Focus Tour: Australian National Botanic Gardens, Arboretum and APH Courtyard Gardens 
  • 0900-1630 – Visitor Engagement Tour: Australian National Museum, Arboretum and Australian National Botanic Gardens 
  • 0900-1300 - Half Day Experience: Australian National Botanic Gardens and Mulligans Flat

1800-1900

BGANZ AGM

1930-2100

Twilight Tour of the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) 


Tuesday 4 November

0800-1700

Registration Desk Open

0830-0845

Pre congress coffee & tea

0845-0905

Welcome to Country Ceremony

0905-0925

Welcome Address

0925-0940

Director, ANBG

0940-1000

Setting the Scene for BGANZ Congress 2025, Cassandra Nichols, Chief Executive Officer, BGANZ

1000-1030

Morning Tea

1030-1115

Keynote Presentation: Dr Paul Smith

1115-1200

Keynote Presentation: Advancing plant sciences and conservation through best practice traditional owner collaborations, Dr Stephen Hopper

1200-1300

Lunch

 

Planning for the Future (1)

Branching Out (1)

Innovation (1)

1300-1320

Can't do it without you: Collaboration and Codesign in Collections Display

Andrea Proctor, Andrea Proctor Landscapes

Learning not to separate Country and People in ex-situ plant conservation

Mitchell Korda, ANBG

Cycad Conservation in Australia and the Role of Botanic Gardens
Tim Uebergang, RBGM

1320-1340

Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum - BBGA BEYOND60

Rachel Mac Smith, Burrendong Botanic Garden & Arboretum

Raising Rarity: Sowing the Seeds of Wonder

Megan Hurst, RBGV

 

Advancing plant science through a consolidated information system at the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Anne Fuchs, ANBG


1340-1400

Garden for the Future: Reflecting on the Design of Resilient Botanic Landscapes for a Changing Climate
Lisa Howard, TCL

Crafting Nature: The Evolution of Larni Garingilang in Bendigo Botanic Gardens

Kirstie Paterson, City of Greater Bendigo

Seed Banking Conservation Ladder: A Framework For Assessing Ex Situ Conservation Knowledge Gaps

Freya Brown, National Seed Bank

1400-1420

The Journey of the Transformation of an illegal industrial dumping ground into The Melbourne
Arboretum
Matt Weller, The Melbourne Arboretum

The Changing Landscape of Education in Botanic Gardens: Cultivating Well-being through Nature
Kate Heywood, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

Antarctic Beech ex-situ conservation– from cutting edge conservation genomics, to cutting conservation hedges
Ian Allan, The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden

1420-1440

Volunteers Journey with Plant Collection Recording
John Bentley, Friend of the Melton Botanic Garden

 

Greener On the Outside - Engaging 'disengaged' youth through an inclusive outreach program
Peter Daw, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

Fighting with nature – managing wild ecosystems in a botanic garden
Ella Rawcliffe, Auckland Botanic Gardens

1440-1500

Devastation to opportunity - The impacts and analysis of Cyclone Alfred on Gold Coast Botanic Garden's Living Collection
Stuart Elder, City of Gold Coast

Story First, Latin Later: Creating Emotional Connections to Conservation Collections

Amalia McLaren-Brown, Wellington Gardens, NZ

Gandel Gondwana Garden at Melbourne Museum a 'walk' through time with the landscape architects
Lucas Dean, TCL

1500-1530

Afternoon tea

 

Planning for the Future (2)

Branching Out (2)

Protecting Plants & People (1)

1530-1550

 

Botanic Garden of Sydney's Living Collections Climate Change Resilience Strategy
Damian Wrigley, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

Conservation through Collaboration at the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden
Terrence Moon, Parks Victoria

 

Preserving Heritage and Horticulture: The Seismic Upgrade of Auckland Domain Winter Garden
Jonathan Corvisy, Auckland City Botanic Gardens

1550-1700

1550-1650

WORKSHOP - CRITICAL REIMAGINING - Botanic Gardens of the Future

Tessa Kum, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

1550-1650

WORKSHOP - Amorphophallus titanum - Australia & New Zealand Metacollection
John Siemon, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

1550-1610

Phytophthora Surveillance, Risk Management, and Conservation Impacts: from Botanic Gardens and nurseries to World Heritage Areas
Matthew Laurence, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

1610-1630

Move the bench: using tree risk assessment frameworks to inform tree protection.

Chelsea Payne, Botanic Parks & Gardens Authority

 

1630 -1650

Optimising compost quality, quantifying Soil Health and remediating poor soil conditions.  - Hepburn Shire Council, Sustainability Victoria

Matthew Daniel, Hepburn Shire Council

 

 

1730-1830

The Great Debate

1900-2200

BGANZ 2025 Congress Dinner

 

Wednesday 5 November

0800-1700

Registration Desk Open

0830-0845

Pre-congress coffee & tea

0845-0930

Keynote Presentation: Dr Fiona Fraser, Threatened Species Commissioner

0930-1000

Keynote Presentation

0930-1030

Keynote Presentation: Co-Designing a Māori Garden, Rebecca Stanley Auckland Botanic Gardens, New Zealand

1030-1100

Morning tea

 

Innovation (2)

Protecting Plants & People (2)

Branching Out (3)

1100-1120

Weaving new science through historic botanic garden fabric

Richard Barley MBE, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK

 

Plant Health Australia’s Role in the Biosecurity Partnership Between Government and Industry

Sarah Corcoran, Plant Health Australia

Event Horticulture: experiences and learnings to share from Adelaide Botanic Garden

Leonie Scriven, Botanic Gardens & State Herbarium

 

1120-1140

iNaturalist – A National Approach to Citizen Science in Botanic Gardens

Patricia Kaye, Wallace Herbarium, Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Tropical Glasshouses at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG)

Kathryn Scobie, ANBG

With kids, for kids, by kids: Refreshing the Children's Garden storytelling at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Sally McPhee, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

1140-1200

Saving the Murrumbidgee River Corridor’s rarest occupant using a holistic conservation approach

Veronica Briceno Rodriguez, ANBG

Biosecurity in Botanic Gardens

John Siemon, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

Open their hearts and blow their minds – 43 years of storytelling at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney

Paul Nicholson, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust

1200-1220

The Ian Potter National Conservatory – Plants and Horticulture

Veronica Briceno Rodriguez, ANBG

The BGANZ Living Collections Toolkit: Building Capacity, Planning for the Future

Sheree Parker, Geelong Botanic Gardens

Grow Wild: Kew + Communities = positive outcomes for biodiversity and wellbeing

Richard Barley MBE, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK

1220-1240

Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust Funding Opportunities

Nancy Kartes, Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust

The value proposition of Botanic Gardens in growing cities

Bec Ramsay, Wellington Gardens, NZ

‘Botanic Gardens beyond the Gates’ Wollongong Botanic Gardens’ role in creating a Botanic City Felicity Skoberne, Wollongong Botanic Garden

1240-1300

Supporting species recovery under the Critically Endangered Project

Bradley Desmond,

Australian Seed Bank Partnership

 

Connecting to Country: Inspiring Awe and Wonder through Outdoor Learning – should be 20 minutes

Tracey Saunders

Australian Botanic Gardens

1300-1345

Lunch

 

Innovation (3)

Branching Out & Innovation

Branching Out & Innovation (2)

Protecting Plants & People (3)

 

1345-1500 - WORKSHOP

Professional Development Workshop - Growing our people: Growing the plants

John Arnott, PD Working Group

 

1345-1500 - WORKSHOP

Global Strategy for plant conservation for botanic gardens

Damian Wrigley

Botanic Gardens of Sydney

1345-1350 Discover how the Botanic Gardens of Sydney used strategy and innovation to become an industry leader in Camellia conservation worldwide Ashley Filipovski, DPIE

1345-1445

WORKSHOP BARB Outdoor tree protection: Balancing sustainable development for our gardens with the needs of our trees.

Ian Allan, The Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens

 

1350-1355 Innovative approach to conservation of Eupomatia laurina in Victoria 

Dr Frank Greenhalgh, Retired - Collaborating with Maranoa Botanic Gardens, City of Boroondara

 

1355-1400 Promoting nature-based solutions: botanic gardens as the shop window for public and professionals 

Emma Simpkins,

Auckland Botanic Gardens

 

1400-1405 Survivor Trees, Hiroshima – Trees as Tools for Peace 

Virginia McNally, The University of Melbourne

 

1405-1410 Problem solving for holistic ex situ conservation of vulnerable subalpine species

Bek Hyland, ANBG

 

1410-1415 Plants for Pollinators

Fiona Chambers, Wheen Bee Foundation

 

1415-1420 Full Bloom: Cultivating Connection and Wellbeing in the Garden for People Living with Dementia 

Sarah Brikke, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

 

1420-1425 BARB i-Tree Canopy assessment of the economic benefits our trees provide.

Ian Allan, The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden

 

1430-1500 - WORKSHOP

Growing Connections: Opportunities for more collaboration on teacher friendly educational resources and programs across botanic gardens

Graham Tupper, Friends of the North Coast Regional Botanic Gardens, Coffs Harbour

 

 

 

1500-1520

Afternoon Tea

1520-1550

Plenary Presentation: Heads of Botanic Gardens Panel Discussion (CHABG/BGANZ)

1550-1600

BGANZ Board Wrap and Conclusions

1600

Congress Close


Page photo credits:
Friends Wollongong BG - Wollongong Botanic Garden 
Harvesting Phebalium davesii seed at RTBG nursery - Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Visitors to the Hoop Pine Forest - Tracey Whitby
Cranbourne Gardens Nursery Staff Propagating Care for the rare collections - RBGV 

We acknowledge Australia's First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We respectfully acknowledge the role that First Nations people continue to play in shaping Australia's democracy. We also acknowledge the Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngambri peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the region in which The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House is located.

Contact the Congress Organisers
Kaigi Conferencing and Events

Level 1, The Realm, 18 National Circuit
Barton ACT 2600

 bganz@kaigi.com.au