Thursday 30 April – 2 July 2.30 pm
Repeated every Sunday 3 May – 5 July 11 am

Mushrooms, Stinkhorns, Cannonball Fungi and more…

There is more to mushrooms than meets the eye! Discover the mysterious nature of Fungi. A ten-week course. Participation by gold coin donation to the Friends of the Gardens to support education programs in the Gardens.
Presented by Heino Lepp, Honorary Scientific Associate at the Australian National Botanic Gardens Cryptogam Herbarium.
Lecture Series Every Thursday 30 April – 2 July 2.30 pm
Repeated every Sunday 3 May – 5 July 11 am
Australian National Botanic Gardens Theatrette
For information contact the Visitor Centre on 6250 9540.

More information

Thursday 4th June until Sunday 30th August
9.00 am – 4.30 pm

Greening the Silver City: seeds of bush generation
Presented by Powerhouse Museum

Discover the remarkable story of Albert Morris, who transformed 1930s Broken Hill from a dusty mining town to one of the first bush regeneration sites in Australia. 

Greening the Silver City: seeds of bush regeneration explores the story of Broken Hill and its significance in environmental history, as a site of one of Australia’s earliest green action.

On tour from the Powerhouse Museum Greening the Silver City: seeds of bush regeneration is run in  collaboration with Broken Hill City Council and community, and is supported by Movable Heritage NSW.

Visitor Centre Gallery. Free Entry.

Further details coming soon

Thursday 4 June
12:30 pm

Botanical Illustration : field sketches to the finished product
Helen Fitzgerald

Renowned Canberra wildlife and botanical artist, Helen Fitzgerald, describes the joys and hardships of working in the field and translating the work to paper in both form and colour.

Thursday 11 June
12:30 pm

Landscape, climate and soils during the Tertiary, and its relevance to the Australian flora
Peter Wellman

Changes in the flora environment during the Tertiary in the Australian region, with an emphasis on the present and past of the south-eastern highlands

Thursday 18 June
12:30 pm

Hopbushes of Australia
Judy West

Australia supports the greatest diversity of the world’s hopbushes in the genus Dodonaea. They occur across the country in almost all habitats except tropical rainforests and high alpine ecosystems.
Recent molecular DNA information combined with knowledge we already have of fruit and leaves is helping to unravel relationships between the species and origins of some of the diversity.

Thursday 25 June
12:30 pm

The Weed Risk Assessment System
Owen Harrod

All plants proposed for importation into Australia are assessed for weed potential before they are permitted entry. This assessment is conducted through Australia's Weed Risk Assessment system, under which plants assessed as likely to become weeds are prohibited entry.
This talk aims to cover the background, the mechanics, the outcomes and implications of such assessments.

Thursday 2 July
12.30 pm

Some Trees of the Westbourne Woods
Richard Hart

Forester Richard Hart talks about both native and introduced conifers that are planted in Westbourne Woods. These plantings, within an arboretum, have provided tree experts from Charles Weston onwards with an indication of their suitability to Canberra.

Saturday 4 & 11 July &
Sunday 5 & 12 July, 11.00am

Saturday 4 & 11 July &
Sunday 5 & 12 July,
Beginning 11.00am

NAIDOC Week

Unearth traditional bush foods on a discovery journey through Australia’s largest collection of native plants. Taste the delicacy of Australian native plants.
Walk: Free, bookings required 02 6250 9540

Tuck in to a Bush Tucker BBQ and celebrate Australian Indigenous peoples culture in the Gardens.
BBQ: Costs apply

Monday 6 until Friday 10 July,
10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Monday 13 until Friday 17 July,
10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Thursday 9 July
12.30 pm

Preserving our High-Country Flora Heritage
Roger Good

The high country, with great sensitivity to warming global temperatures, presents many problems to both botanists and park managers.
Roger Good talks of some of the practical measures already in place to preserve much of the high country flora and the splendid co-operation of many agencies in meeting the developing problem.

Thursday 16 July
12.30 pm

Plants : the Inside Story
Brian Gunning

Emeritus Professor Brian Gunning uses microscopes to explore the inner workings of living cells of plants.
He will show movies illustrating this marvellous - and remarkably dynamic - hidden world of colour, movement and organisation.

Thursday 23 July
12.30 pm

Biosequestration
Pep Canadel

The reduction of carbon dioxide content of the earth's atmosphere is a present challenge. The use of growing plants and their products may offer some alleviation of the problem.
Pep Canadel takes us through some of the issues confronting human endeavours to decrease carbon dioxide levels.

Thursday 30 July
12.30 pm

Aboriginal Peoples and the Environment
Michael Pickering

From an exhaustive case study and many years of experience, Michael Pickering describes the traditional subsistence-settlement patters of the Garawa people of northern Australia.

Saturday 15th August, 7.30pm

Wednesday 19th August, 7.30pm

Twilight adventures: Feel the rainforest come alive!

Shine a spotlight into the after dark happenings in the gardens. Search for creepy crawlies in the crevaces of our rainforests. Try to spy our nocturnal wildlife in the tree tops. Have you ever heard a forest groan? Turn on your torches with our twilight guides and discover a whole new world so close to the city.

Free, bookings required 02 6250 9540