Biennial BGANZ Congress comes to Mackay
The Congress aims to recognize the role and responsibilities of Botanic Gardens as a resource for the future preservation of species, and to support the global effort to retain significant and regionally important plant materials.
A series of guest speakers, workshops, keynote presentations and discussion groups will explore these issues. The Congress has attracted 100 people from across Australia and New Zealand.
The event runs from 8-11 October 2009
Program highlights
Liar liar, plants on fire! Managing the risk of fire in a botanic garden on the edge of suburbia - Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
The horrific fires of the 2009 Victorian summer have highlighted the immense forces that nature can unleash given the right mix of environmental factors. In south eastern Australia, the prevailing summer weather pattern sees high pressure systems moving slowly across the Tasman Sea, forcing hot dry winds from the north of the continent to the tinder box of fuels in the south east of the mainland. White Australians have lived with fire for decades, but even with the experience of the wildfire holocaust of Black Friday in 1939 and Ash Wednesday in 1983, we struggle to live with fire as a seasonal norm. The impact of climate change is predicted to increase the incidence of extreme fire weather days into the future. This presentation will explore how Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne has responded to these complex, and sometimes conflicting management challenges.
Fight for your Rights: the struggle to keep and grow Botanic Gardens Native | Tondoon Botanic Gardens Gladstone
Botanic Gardens are not well understood resources amongst the community. From surveys it is shown that people predominantly visit Botanic Gardens for recreation purposes. Further to the struggle for our cause is the lack of knowledge about Native Botanic Gardens or even worse local natives. In most cases people don’t recognise what value to the community they have from the native plants around them. This situation is not restricted to the community but also our management, council and even State Government. Because Tondoon Botanic Gardens is one of the best examples of collecting and preserving the unique vegetation of regional areas, I would like to use our story to encourage others in their determination for the cause. In this presentation, Brent will speak about the many aspects and roles of a local native Botanic Gardens and how to best achieve a truly valuable resource. In order to keep goals and aims true for the future and those who will come after us we must fight for our rights now.
