In late 2021, AGHS set up a climate change advisory group, chaired by Professor Tim Entwisle, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and patron on the Society. The group’s terms of reference are to:
- Develop an AGHS position statement on climate change that addresses principles of mitigation and management as well as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultural heritage
- Develop a responsive ‘tool kit’ which reflects our mission to research, advocate, educate, manage and mitigate the impacts of climate change
- Promote lessons from historic gardens and cultural landscapes with potential to inform responses to climate change, such as life pre-reticulated water, with more limited plant selection from particular climate zones, past drought and fire survivors, etc.
The statement will be launched at the AGHS annual conference in Hobart in November 2022. The document includes a policy statement, framework for action and some case studies.
The tool kit will be a living document published on the AGHS website, with case studies, tools and tips offered to garden owners and those working to preserve Australia’ s cultural landscapes.