Botanica Festival – Heritage Gardens Panel

Join us at Botanica Festival to explore the rich history of Victoria’s heritage gardens! Hear from a panel of experts who’ve dug deep—literally—to preserve and nurture our green spaces. Discover their stories and why these gardens matter now more than ever in our changing and ever-warming world.

Panellists

Anna Foley
Moderator 

Anna Foley is a Member of the Heritage Council of Victoria and has a background in botany, ecology, planning, heritage, and community engagement. She is chair of the National Parks Advisory Council, chairs an RMIT Industry Advisory Committee and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Anna also works part-time at Trust for Nature, working with private landholders to protect Victoria’s natural wonders forever. Prior to this role Anna was the Conservation Manager at the National Trust in Victoria, advocating for natural and cultural heritage protection. 

Andrea Proctor

Andrea is a landscape architect and horticulturist with over 20 years’ experience with leading firms and Victorian institutions.   For over a decade Andrea was principal assistant and collaborator to respected landscape architect Andrew Laidlaw, in his private practice and at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.   She has worked on high-profile landscapes across eastern Australia, with a particular focus on botanic and heritage gardens. Her work includes landscape design, horticulture and heritage management, in particular the complexities that come with managing living heritage landscapes.  

Clare Hart

Clare Hart is Director Horticulture at RBGV Melbourne Gardens and has been working in the horticultural industry for the past 28 years in areas of horticulture and arboriculture including nursery management, garden design, botanic gardens, local government, and horticulture media. Her experience extends to strategic and operational management of public open space including parks, botanic gardens and conservation areas and she specialises in landscape succession and climate adaptation; RBGV is the current secretariat for the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens. 

Alice Crowe

Alice Crowe is a gardener, botanist and lawyer, passionate about connecting people with the earth and one another. She is the co-founder of not-for profit Growing Farmers, and the former kitchen gardener at Heide Museum of Modern Art. Alice is the author of A Heide Harvest, which describes the history and practice of the historic kitchen gardens at Heide. 

Justin Buckley

Justin is responsible for the care and management of the National Trust’s garden and environmental heritage sites throughout Victoria.   

This panel is proudly brought to you by Heritage Council of Victoria, as part of the Australian Heritage Festival celebrations.