Happy Anniversary Celebrating

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

OF FOUNDATION & FRIENDS

ONE VISION, DOZENS OF CREATIVE CONCEPTS AND THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEER HOURS HAVE HELPED THE GARDENS REMAIN AMONG THE WORLD’S GREAT SCIENTIFIC, EDUCATIONAL, HORTICULTURAL, CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL SPACES. DAVID CARROLL REPORTS.

Ideas for an independent organisation dedicated to supporting the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney had been bouncing around for years before Garden Director Dr Lawrence Johnson and Chairman Professor Michael Pitman took the decisive step in 1982 to create Friends of the Botanic Gardens.

The pair secured a $10,000 grant, formed a committee led by inaugural President Sir Rupert Myers, and conducted the organisation’s first meeting on 27 July 1982. By the first Annual

Sir Rupert Myers, actress Kate Fitzpatrick and ABC TV gardening presenter Alan Searle launch Friends of the Botanic Gardens with a special planting

General Meeting on 25 November 1983, Friends had almost 600 members, a constitution and a full program of activities and fundraising initiatives.

Over the next 30 years Friends of the Gardens went from strength to strength, until in 2012 members acted on the recommendations of an independent report and merged with the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation.

Bringing two organisations together is never an easy task – especially when they are supported by fiercely passionate volunteers. But there’s no question the merger was, by any measure, a resounding success, creating a more effective and coherent platform from which to raise support and awareness of Sydney’s much beloved Gardens.

In fact, in its 40th year, it’s fair to say Foundation & Friends has never been stronger. So, let’s celebrate this important milestone by reflecting on just some of our organisation’s many current and past achievements, and taking a moment to consider what the future holds...

ART IN THE GARDENS Like many of its most successful initiatives, Foundation & Friends’ much celebrated program of art exhibitions had modest beginnings. In this case, it was the launch, back in 1986, of a garden photography competition.

Then in March 1988 the organisation organised the inaugural Friends’ Art Exhibition, featuring painter Christine McCarthy and potter Patricia Woskett. It was such a success that it became an annual event, which in turn lay the foundations for exhibitions that now draw thousands of people to the Gardens and raise funds that support all manner of projects.

Since that small photographic competition, Foundation & Friends has run more than 65 exhibitions. Some have been unique one-off events, such as Kauri Project and Treecycle, which saw timbers salvaged from across the Gardens transformed into everything from musical instruments to fine furniture and jewellery. Others – such as Artisans in the Gardens and Botanica, which has contributed to a revival of botanical art – have become staples of the Sydney art scene.

More recently, the scope of the exhibition program has expanded to throw a spotlight on important issues such as sustainability through the 2021 exhibition Transformation. Work has also now begun on a new exhibition due to open in 2023 that will feature artworks referencing threatened Australian species and environments.

‘Botanica's success has given many artists support and recognition, and raised public awareness of botanical art. It was also the catalyst for the founding of the Florilegium Society, which has seen 138 paintings donated to the Daniel Solander Library by international and Australian artists’

Beverly Allen, award-winning botanical artist

Meredith Woolnough is a regular exhibitor at Artisans in the Gardens Botanica 2017 featured artist Angela Lober's show-stopping Doryanthes excelsa

Mikey Floyd violin (Treecycle 2016) Angela Robertson-Buchanan (Wild Thing 2019)

‘A scholarship enabled me to attend a ‘Gardening with Children and Youth’ conference in the U.S., which expanded my notions of what public horticulture can be, and the potential of gardening to influence lives’

Paul Nicholson, Manager Volunteer Programs NURTURING EXPERTISE As well as generating much-needed funds for high-profile infrastructure and science-related projects, Foundation & Friends has over the years supported the professional development of the talented and dedicated staff who care for the Gardens.

One of the most important initiatives was unveiled back in 1990 when Friends of the Botanic Gardens launched a Horticultural Scholarship. Designed to expand the skills and expertise of horticultural staff, the scholarship program later broadened its focus to also include the Gardens’ science and science communications teams.

Over the past three decades over 55 scholarships – worth an estimated $400,000 – have been awarded. The program has helped staff travel all over the world to attend conferences and symposiums, take part in study trips and undertake valuable internships.

As well as enabling staff to develop their own skills and knowledge in everything from cutting-edge digitisation practices to collection management and garden design, the scholarship program has helped forge stronger ties with other botanic gardens and research institutions.

TRAVELLING WITH FRIENDS Foundation & Friends’ small group tours have enabled members – under the direction of expert guides – to venture to many of the world’s most beautiful gardens and natural environments.

The first trip embarked on 12 June 1983, with an excursion from Sydney to the Wollongong Botanic Garden for a walk and afternoon tea. Two years later, members left Australian shores, taking a colourful tour of India’s horticultural highlights.

Since then, journeys have been undertaken to all corners of the globe, including the United Kingdom, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Peru, New Guinea, China, Japan, Madagascar, and the Galapagos and Ecuador. Along the way, members have shared endless memories and formed enduring friendships. As the old saying goes: ‘You can pack for every occasion, but a friend will always be the best thing you could bring’.

GROWING FRIENDS It’s entirely unsurprising that an organisation dedicated to supporting the Gardens would organise a team of green-fingered volunteers to propagate plants and sell them to the public. But it’s doubtful anyone involved in the launch of Growing Friends in 1998 would have foreseen quite how successful it would become.

In its early years Growing Friends earned around $5,000 a year selling plants featured in the Gardens’ living collections. Within a few years the team at the Botanic Garden Sydney had expanded, and nurseries had opened at the Australian Botanic Garden and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden. Today Growing Friends is a highly sophisticated operation that involves more than 100 volunteers and generates in excess of $200,000 in sales each year.

Life Member Raoul de Ferranti, who joined the team in the mid-2000s, says the growth in sales has been extraordinary. “But it’s been equally rewarding to see the remarkable development in the range of plants our teams now create, and the reputation that we’ve developed for quality.”

He says some things have not changed since the beginning.

“It remains a great privilege to be able to work within the Gardens and to work closely with the horticultural staff, who are all very supportive of the work we are doing and the money we raise for the Gardens.”

According to de Ferranti, there is still considerable scope for Growing Friends to further increase plant sales.

“In Sydney for the time being we are constrained by the space available for propagation and selling, but the Gardens are looking at ways to improve our facilities. There is also considerable potential for growth at Mount Tomah and Mount Annan, where we now have better facilities for propagation and sales following the redevelopment of the nursery area as part of the National Herbarium development.”

Trial Garden beds next to the Conservatorium of Music

A STRONG VOICE Thanks to its independence, Foundation & Friends has on many occasions acted as a strong advocate for the Gardens, lobbying the NSW Government and other bodies on a range of important and sometimes controversial issues. Over the years these have ranged from CBD developments causing shadows over the Garden, to the impact of major infrastructure projects such as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

Arguably the most successful campaign took place in 1999 when Friends of the Gardens, supported by media and the National Trust, successfully lobbied to restrict the redesign of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, which threatened to overshadow and encroach on the Garden.

More recently Foundation & Friends spearheaded opposition to the use of the Gardens' land for the creation of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney Modern Project. In 2017, then Chairman Clive Austin engaged a broad range of media to call on the state government to reconsider the controversial new wing of the Gallery, which sits on land mandated for open space and conservation purposes. Austin pointed out that since 1912 the Gardens had lost more than 10% of its land to developments such as the Cahill Expressway and Conservatorium of Music.

‘Since 1912 the Gardens had lost more than 10% of its land to developments’

Succulent wreath worksop

Beverly Allen Art Class

New Year's Eve picnic on Mare and Foal Lawn hosted by Foundation & Friends SERENE STROLLS AND PYROTECHNIC PICNICS Foundation & Friends kicked off its events program in November 1982 with three rather civilised and relatively sedate activities: a meet and greet with then Garden’s Director Lawrie Johnson, a “summer walk” around the Botanic Garden Sydney, and a talk by Professor Michael Pitman.

To say the program has blossomed would be an understatement. Today members and non-members are presented with an array of fascinating seminars, workshops, talks, walks and lunches with leading lights in such areas as botanical science, horticulture, art and garden design.

Members also take part in Helping Hands, which provides a regular opportunity to work alongside the Gardens’ horticulture teams, and in the process pick up useful tips and new skills. In addition, our volunteers play important support roles in major Garden events, such as the annual Sydney Tomato Festival.

The undisputed jewel in the Foundation & Friends’ events program, however, is the exclusive New Year’s Eve Picnic, hosted each year on the Mare & Foal Lawn, from where members and their guests enjoy unrivalled views across Farm Cove.

The first Picnic was held back in 1996 and pre-COVID all 3,000 available tickets were regularly sold out, generating around one third of Foundation & Friends’ annual business revenue and a significant portion of new members.

'The New Year’s Eve Picnic generates around one third of Foundation & Friends’ annual revenue'

‘Around $13 million of those funds have been allocated to a broad range of projects’

THE FRUITS OF LABOUR Foundation & Friends raises funds through a range of regular activities, including annual exhibitions, events and the Growing Friends Plant Sales. Just as vital are the fundraising appeals undertaken for key projects, and the exceptionally generous bequests and gifts the organisation attracts. As a result, since 1982, a remarkable $17 million has been collected to support the Gardens.

Around $13 million of those funds have been allocated to a broad range of projects, with the organisation’s financial support proving instrumental in furthering scientific research, building and regenerating infrastructure, enhancing education facilities, and helping develop new areas across all three Gardens.

One of the earliest projects supported by Foundation & Friends was the creation of the Botanic Garden Sydney’s Rose Garden. Other priceless spaces – such as the enchanting Connections Garden at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan and the rainforest viewing platform at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah – were made possible by Foundation & Friends’ fundraising efforts.

More recently, the organisation helped fund the digitisation of the National Herbarium of New South Wales – a process that involved capturing high-resolution images of close to a million specimens and launched the collection into the digital age (see story page 23).

Foundation & Friends celebrates its 40th year in a strong financial position, with $3.7 million available for projects that will ensure Sydney continues to boast three of the world’s leading botanic gardens.

Pictured at the launch of PlantClinic in 2017 are (L–R) Gardens' Executive Director Kim Ellis, Foundation & Friends' Chair Clive Austin, NSW Minister for the Environment Gabrielle Upton and Dr Brett Summerell from the Royal Botanic Gardens

Australian PlantBank The Calyx

PROJECT YEAR/S SUPPORT ($)

Rainforest viewing platform (Blue Mountains Botanic Garden) Rose Garden (Botanic Garden Sydney) 1992 10,000

1985–1987 30,000

Lion Gate Lodge refurbishment 2002–2007 124,008 Connections Garden (Australian Botanic Garden) 2009–2011 220,000 Rainforest Seed Conservation 2014, 324,186 2018–2019

Plant diversification program 2016 429,660

Plant Pathology laboratories

2017–2018 500,000+ Transformative learning and education 2015–2019 560,000+ African Olive eradication (Mount Annan) 2015–2018 662,000+ The Calyx (Botanic Garden Sydney) 2015–2019 1,000,000+ Teaching and research laboratories at the Australian PlantBank 2013–2014 1,000,000+ Herbarium digitisation 2019–2022 1,000,000+

PASSIONATE PEOPLE Volunteers are the beating heart of any not-for-profit organisation, and the key reason Foundation & Friends enters its 40th years in such robust shape.

Around 350 dedicated members work as volunteers each year, typically donating more than 30,000 hours of their time to organise and run exhibitions, cater at events, co-ordinate classes, workshops and seminars, and propagate and sell plants. They also staff information stands, ensure the New Year’s Eve Picnic runs smoothly, and represent Foundation & Friends at the Garden’s annual Tomato Festival.

With such a broad range of activities, volunteers – who come from a diverse range of backgrounds – can contribute in ways that suit their particular skills and interests. All that is required is a passion for the Gardens and a desire to give something back to the community.

Life member Carol Griesser, who in 2000 became a member of the Australian Botanic Garden Growing Friends’ operation, says that the Gardens invariably reward volunteers for their time.

“I’ve been able to make life friends with so many other people – not just volunteers but members of the wonderful horticulture staff, for whom the Garden is much more than just a job.

“And every time I visit the Gardens, I see the contribution that Foundation & Friends has made to projects large and small. It’s nice to know that our efforts have helped make those things possible, and it makes you feel proud to have been a part of it.”

Artisans volunteers Foundation & Friends is about protecting treasured places where special memories are created

LOOKING FORWARD Foundation & Friends has experienced remarkable growth over the past 40 years, but what does the future hold? Can our organisation continue to evolve, expand its fundraising activities and attract new members? CEO Peter Thomas is confident the answer to all three questions is a resounding ‘yes’.

“I believe we are on the cusp of significant growth, driven by a variety of factors, not least of which is a growing concern around climate change and a desire among people of all ages to engage with the natural world and play a part in protecting our environment,” says Thomas.

“Those feelings only grew during the pandemic, when people became even more aware and appreciative of the Gardens and the priceless open spaces they provide. That was evident not just in the city, but in regions around Mount Annan, where we saw visitation rise dramatically.

“By tapping into that passion for the botanical world – and promoting the Gardens’ scientific, educational and cultural activities – we have an opportunity to attract support from a broader audience, including wealthy philanthropists.

‘40 years after its launch, the work that Foundation & Friends undertakes is more important than ever’

"In the past the Royal Botanic Garden has been the poor cousin of the city's cultural institutions, but a lot of work is being done to position us as a peer, and a vital part of the fabric of the city. That will enable us to connect more with individuals who are in a position to make major donations – an area in which, comparatively speaking, we currently underperform.”

One thing is certain – 40 years after its launch, the work that Foundation & Friends undertakes is more important than ever.

“It’s vital we support the Gardens’ efforts to confront the great challenges we now face, including climate change and habitat loss. Part of that involves remaining vigilant in our role as an independent advocate, helping protect treasured spaces, in which memories are forged and special moments created.”