New expert resources to help green our cities
The University of Melbourne has launched two new urban greening resources at the Greener Cities symposium, which brought together experts in open space planning and management, landscape architecture and design, urban forestry and green infrastructure at the University on 20-21 April.
Organised by the University of Melbourne’s Green Infrastructure Research Group and the Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria (NGIV), the two-day event included seminars, workshops and demonstrations that focused on how research can inform the development of more sustainable green infrastructure in cities.
The event also marked the launch of two University of Melbourne developed resources which have a key focus on urban greening - Maintenance Guidelines for Australian Green Roofs and the Burnley Plant Guide (BPG).
Associate Professor John Rayner, from the University’s School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, is the co-creator of the Burnley Plant Guide and lead author of the Maintenance Guidelines.
Associate Professor Rayner said these resources are an important part of knowledge exchange and industry collaboration.
“The Greening Cities symposium was at the University’s beautiful, historic Burnley campus, which has been a centre for horticultural teaching and research since 1891. This exciting event brought together industry, researchers, government and communities to discuss how we can advance urban greening and the health of our cities.”
“We all have a collective role to play and sharing information and creating relationships is critical if we want to create greener, more liveable cities in the face of severe challenges such as expanding urban populations and climate change.”
Targeted at the landscape industry broadly, particularly planners, designers, contractors, nurseries and managers, the Maintenance Guidelines for Australian Green Roofs has been developed as part of a Hort Innovation project, with support from the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne and significant input and contributions from many industry experts. The guide demystifies green roofs maintenance and includes details on specific maintenance tasks and activities as well as examples of maintenance schedules for four types of green roofs.
The Burnley Plant Guide (BPG) website has been a much-loved resource for University of Melbourne students and staff for more than 12 years and is now, for the first time, being made available to external users through a new subscription service. The BPG is an indexed and searchable database of landscape plants grown in south-eastern Australia and encompasses more than 2,700 native and exotic plant species or cultivars and 7,930 high quality images.
David Reid, Policy & Technical Manager for NGIV said: “Victoria’s nursery industry is proud of their part in greening our cities and sees this event and the ongoing partnership with the University of Melbourne as a wonderful opportunity to promote the creation of more liveable and sustainable spaces. These resources will further support these outcomes by providing high quality and usable information directly targeted at users across multiple disciplines.”
The Green Infrastructure Research Group was established in 2010 as the first dedicated green infrastructure research group in Australia. The team collaborates closely with industry, government and community to implement real solutions to enhance urban greening and create more liveable cities and towns.
Media enquiries: Daryl Holland | daryl.holland@unimelb.edu.au | 0434 952 009