Parramatta Hills - AGM & talk: Finding climate-ready plants

Prof. Leishman works in the fields of plant invasion biology, climate change impacts and adaptations, conservation and urban ecology. She leads a research group in the new School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, and is Director of this University’s Smart Green Cities. She has led the development of a widely used online tool for climate change adaptation, and leads the Which Plant Where project, aiming to facilitate resilient and diverse urban green spaces. She also holds leading positions in the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Bush Heritage Australia and the Australian Flora Foundation.

Green spaces in our urban areas are extremely important for mitigating high summer temperatures, absorbing carbon dioxide and for the psychological benefits for the residents of crowded cities. It is very likely that many of the current street trees and green space plants will not survive the inevitable higher temperatures of the future. The Which Plant Where project aims to give reliable recommendations for planning and planting public green spaces and private gardens.

This will be a very interesting, topical and informative talk about the threats by climate change to gardens, including to native gardens, and ways to avoid and manage these.