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Thoughts on Congress from a BGANZ Congress Grant recipient, Jennifer Duval-Smith
Recently I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Melbourne. As an artist and therefore somewhat atypical attendee I'd like to thank the members of the BGANZ committee and the Congress for the generous congress registration grant which enabled me to participate.
A personal highlight was facilitating the workshop 'Head, heart, hands and plants - driving creative engagement with plants through nature journaling'. This offered 20 delegates the opportunity to experience something of a 'speed date' with nature journaling as part of the education and engagement day at RBGV Melbourne. I have to commend the participants' energetic cooperation and focussed engagement with the subject matter in the condensed time we had available.
The range and variety of topics available at the Congress was extraordinary and it was often difficult to choose which stream to attend. I cannot think of another industry event where so much variety is presented, and it was extremely galvanising to hear the many examples of innovation and best practice at botanic gardens all over the world. Presentations were by turn inspiring, practical, insightful, humorous, and provocative.
Just a few insights from the event which I will carry forward and share, including:
- fairly sobering statistics from 'Australia's scariest climate change scientist' Prof David Karoly
- scenario planning: humans are notoriously inaccurate at predictive planning but in observing and responding to the positive elements of our current scenario we can instill a constructive sense of hope. We can create, share and rehearse alternative futures to shift from overwhelm and powerlessness to confidence and agency
- how the principles of indigenous culture are the bedrock in which architecture and development must be anchored, with architect Jefa Greenaway
- botanic gardens have a credible 'soft power' to make change, a cultural currency they can use to connect and go beyond communication to provoke the behaviour we want to see in the world.
- in communication around conservation, and climate change, we need to be on high alert for changes in context because 'communication without context is just noise' (Robin Penty, RBGV)
- strategic communications planning needs to be structured to factor in observation and tracking of behavioural change as a result of outreach activities (Laura Skates, Kings Park)
- beyond plants, botanic gardens have an opportunity to capitalise on their role in fostering human community and the ability to branch out beyond the walls, incorporating the strengths and network power of community
- the 'decentralised' approach of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Florida, which collaborates with NASA, and has its own high school, maker space and propagation bus, which focuses on taking the garden out into the community
- using art as a modality can take conservation or climate communication beyond the purely pedagogical. Interesting models were offered by the TROMPS gardens, science and art partnership and artist Jessica Wilson, who presented new and generationally relevant ways of engaging with children.
Overall, the impression I have is of an interconnected network of incredibly smart and dedicated botanic gardens professionals working thoughtfully to conserve what we have and preserve it for the future. I greatly appreciated this opportunity and will certainly incorporate the vast variety of insights and planning into my own work as an artist and educator.
Finally, I'd like to thank the team from Auckland Botanic Gardens headed by Mich Newton who initially set me on this journey via the Friends Visiting Artist's Residency at Auckland Botanic Gardens, and Claire Mosley and the team from the RGBV Melbourne for their warm welcome and workshop support.
Jennifer Duval-Smith
Botanic artist and nature journalist
www.jenniferduval-smith.com
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Recording of BGANZ QLD's online climate change presentation now available
For those of you that missed Peter Syme's presentation on 17 November, Adapting your landscape and plant collections to climate change: threats, tools and techniques, a recording is available to view here.
You can also view a pdf of his presentation here.
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Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault, Republic of Korea
The Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault (BGSV) is the world's only wild plant seed storage facility.
The BGSV in Korea is one of only two built worldwide - the other is Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, which focuses on preserving crop seeds for food resources for future generations. The BGSV also serves the purpose of storing wild plants that are on the verge of extinction, on top of food resource plants.
The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since 2019, the BGSV's main purpose is to secure biodiversity from threats such as natural disasters, climate change and war, to support sustainable life for human beings.
Facts about the BGSV:
- it is located 600 m above sea level and 46 m below ground
- the Korean Government is reponsible for its safety and security
- all seeds are stored at -20 degrees C and 40% RH
- there are no fees for storing, protecting, and conserving seeds
- all seeds of domestic wild plants of an institute or seed bank in your country can be stored.
For more information on the BGSV, please click here.
If you are interested in storing your seeds at the BGSV, please:
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Information session: Application to import Xylella cultures for research purposes
You are invited to an information session on 9 December 2022 regarding an import permit application currently being assessed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for the bacterial pathogens Xylella fastidiosa and Xylella taiwanensis (hereafter referred as ‘Xylella’).
The application is for the import of live and preserved cultures of Xylella into an approved secure biosecurity containment laboratory for research purposes.
The session will provide you with an opportunity to hear directly from the import permit applicant (the NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, EMAI) regarding the proposed uses and applications of the material, as well as DAFF’s assessment of risks and proposed management measures.
To attend this virtual session, please register via Eventbrite here.
Details:
- Friday 9 December 2022, 2:00 to 3:30pm AEDT
- Online via MS Teams.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].
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CCABG December Horticulture Forum
The final Horticulture Forum of the year is coming up!
This session will be diving into the newly launched Climate Assessment Tool (https://cat.bgci.org/).
Peter Symes of Cooktown Botanic Gardens will be joined by Dr Dave Kendal to discuss the ins and outs of the CAT, the methodology and examine some of the many applications for which the CAT can be utilised.
This will be a streamlined session of what was presented at the launch at the Congress, and will of course be recorded and published on the Alliance website for later viewing if you are unable to attend.
Date & Time: Wednesday 14 December 0800 - 0845 AEST
Teams Link: click here.
Feel free to forward this invitation to any of your colleagues or associates, and don't forget to include your own horticulture staff!
For more information, or to join the CCABG, please email [email protected]
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Vacancy: Curator - Williamstown Botanic Gardens, Victoria
- Permanent Full Time
- Band 6 - $89,233 - $98,505 (+10.5% superannuation & RDO)
We are seeking a skilled professional who has demonstrated experience in establishing and managing horticultural and landscape assets, coordination of operational maintenance programs, curation and development of a large formal, heritage or botanic garden.
For a copy of the position description or to apply, click here, or contact our Customer Service team on 1300 179 944. For further information please contact Adam Kemp, Coordinator Parks, Sports & Conservation on 03 9932 1337.
Applications close 11.30pm Sunday 11 December 2022.
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Vacancy: Horticultural Labourer - Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan
- Ongoing Full Time Opportunity
- Horticulturist Grade 2/4, salary relative to experience and ranges from $55,416 to $65,152, + super
Our friendly Display Horticulture team is currently seeking a Horticultural Labourer to contribute to the conservation, construction, maintenance and regeneration of horticultural and natural areas within Botanic Gardens Greater Sydney sites.
Should you require further information about the role please contact Jarryd Kelly via [email protected]
For more information and to apply, click here.
Applications close Wednesday, 7th December 2022 at 11:55pm.
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Vacancy: Senior Horticulturist/Nursery – Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
- Ongoing Full Time Opportunity, Sydney
- Salary range from $73,393 to $81,158 + super
The iconic Royal Botanic Garden is currently seeking to appoint an experienced Senior Horticulturist Nursery to coordinate the nursery and propagation programs including activities such as plant propagation, curating collections, horticultural maintenance, stocktakes, experience in the use of a data base, research, effective budgetary controls and the allocation of resources. Effective time management and problem solving skills with an attention to detail.
This is an exciting opportunity to join an organisation of passionate, world leading staff from the fields of science and horticulture.
To view the role, click here.
For further information please contact Randy Sing via [email protected]
Closing date 7/12/2022-11:55pm
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Join BGANZ as a member
Membership benefits Include — Joining a Network of national and international botanic garden, wide range of institutions and associate professional bodies and groups such as Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). PLUS:
- Training and development opportunities
- Professional Development supported through BGANZ Prizes, Awards and Secondments programs
- Partnership and shared knowledge opportunities
- Professional Network working groups (eg. engagement, collections and record management network)
- Use of the BGANZ website, social media and email to promote events, news and jobs
- Botanic garden council advisory service
- Online forums, panel discussions and webinars
- BGANZ developed resources
- Exclusive access to the BGANZ Member's database
- Subscription to The BOTANIC GARDENer,online magazine published half yearly
- Early bird invitations and discounts to our biennial congress, regional conferences and other events
- Cheaper and special car purchase offers
And much more!
Contact us for a BGANZ Membership Application Form
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