General News
9 March, 2023
Renowned speaker visits
SEEING the value of beauty and heritage were central themes of a guest speaker’s talk in Camperdown recently.
SEEING the value of beauty and heritage were central themes of a guest speaker’s talk in Camperdown recently.
Director of Gardens at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richard Barley was in Camperdown as the guest of the Camperdown Botanic Gardens and Arboretum Trust.
Visitors came from as far as Melbourne, Lavers Hill, Port Fairy and Ballarat to hear about his experiences over 10 years of guiding the development of the UNESCO World Heritage site and one of London’s most popular attractions.
He highlighted the challenges of caring for a garden with history dating back to the 1700s, with spectacular glasshouses and other buildings erected during Britain’s grand imperial era, while responding to current social, environmental and economic challenges.
Earlier in the day Mr Barley, his wife, acclaimed botanical artist Anita Barley, and other family members, were treated to lunch in the picnic shelter in the Botanic Garden, before he took to the shovel to plant a tree in the Arboretum to mark the occasion.
Mr Barley last gave a public talk in Camperdown in 2015.
As a former director of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, he has been a keen supporter of the rejuvenation of Camperdown’s Botanic Gardens and Arboretum and the work of the CBGA Trust.
Trust secretary Janet O’Hehir said the audience was “very enthusiastic”.
“It was a treat to have such a high profile guest speaker in Camperdown and to hear first-hand about what is happening at the world’s most famous botanic garden,” she said.
“The issues he talked about are similar to the ones we are dealing with here, but on a much grander scale.”
Sarah Wood, who came from Melbourne for the occasion, said she was glad she made the trip.
“What a fabulous event, having the director of Kew Gardens in Camperdown,” she said.
“It was just wonderful, and I loved the historical venue.”