Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Annual Report 2018-19

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Chairman’s Foreword In accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994, I am pleased to present the Royal Botanic Gardens Board Victoria Annual Report for 2018-19. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s iconic sites, critical scientific research, and innovative learning and participation programs speak to our unique purpose to safeguard plants and plant knowledge for the wellbeing of people and the planet. This year has been one of remarkable achievements for Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Our work was bolstered by a funding increase from the State Government through the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in June 2018, followed by strong support for our flagship capital project, the Nature and Science Precinct. With the uplift in operational funding Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria has achieved important improvements to public accessibility, safety and engagement, while also enabling the organisation to recruit 18 new staff roles that ensure the organisation maintains its world-leading healthy, biodiverse and resilient plant collections and essential plant research. This year has seen two of our most popular landscapes, Fern Gully at Melbourne Gardens and the Red Sand Garden at Cranbourne Gardens, refreshed and enhanced. These areas are now not only beautiful locations for visitors but also examples of landscape design and horticultural excellence. Our leadership role in landscape and horticultural management was further demonstrated this year in our hosting of the inaugural Climate Change Summit for global botanic gardens. In December 2018, thirteen international botanic organisations came together for a fourday summit exploring ways in which botanic gardens can become climate ready and resilient. Participants were introduced to the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s Landscape Succession Strategy as a guiding approach, culminating in the establishment of the Climate Change Alliance of Global Botanic Gardens. Our scientific research continues to play a critical role in the identification and conservation of Australia’s native flora. The National Herbarium of Victoria is leading a major national collaborative research project, Genomes of Australian Plants, which aims to improve understanding of Australia’s plant life through Next Generation Sequencing of large proportions of the Australian plant genome in collaboration with Bioplatforms Australia. This project was made possible through generous support from The Ian Potter Foundation and the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation. I thank them for their foresight in supporting this valuable initiative. Much of the work of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria cannot be achieved without the hard work and support of our two Friends groups – Melbourne Friends and Cranbourne Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria – and our dedicated volunteers who enthusiastically deliver many important functions, from our guided daily walks to mounting historical specimens. I also gratefully acknowledge the significant support of the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation Board, chaired by Gillian Hund, and our loyal and generous donors and corporate partners, without whom we would not be where we are today. This year saw the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning support our vision for a transformation of Melbourne Gardens through development of a new Nature and Science Precinct with a $5 million grant to complete a full feasibility study for this project. The Nature and Science Precinct includes redevelopment of the National Herbarium of Victoria into a state-of-the-art home for the irreplaceable treasures and specimens of the State Botanical Collection. The Herbarium collections will be protected securely for future generations in an underground vault, while creating opportunities to bring the stories behind those treasures to the general public for the very first time. The Precinct will include a new Learning and Participation Centre providing fresh opportunities to engage local communities with urban ecology, ethnobotany, ethno-astronomy and much more. I thank Minister Lily D’Ambrosio for her ongoing support of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. I wish to express my sincere thanks to my fellow Board Members who have volunteered their time and worked tirelessly throughout the year to assist management in delivering so many wonderful achievements. This year more than ever before, I’m proud to say, there is something new happening at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and I am excited for what lies ahead. Ken Harrison AM Chairman Royal Botanic Gardens Board Victoria 4 September 2019 2
A family enjoy a peaceful moment at Cranbourne Gardens ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS BOARD VICTORIA — ANNUAL REPORT 2018–19 3
Page 1 and 2: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Annu
Page 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS Chairman’s Fore
Page 7 and 8: Visitors admiring a tree on Oak Law
Page 9 and 10: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS BOARD VICTORI
Page 11 and 12: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS BOARD VICTORI
Page 13 and 14: Our Organisation Royal Botanic Gard
Page 15 and 16: “Our Gardens are the living heart
Page 17 and 18: “We always seem to find our way b
Page 19 and 20: Specimens from the State Botanical
Page 21 and 22: Ms Susanne Williamson GAICD Appoint
Page 23 and 24: EXECUTIVE TEAM AS AT 30 JUNE 2019 D
Page 25 and 26: Our People “We are the custodians
Page 27 and 28: Table 4: Details of employment leve
Page 29 and 30: Our Performance We embrace our resp
Page 31 and 32: Table 6: Financial results for 2018
Page 33 and 34: Our Achievements The Royal Botanic
Page 35 and 36: Exemplar sheet of Eucalyptus globul
Page 37 and 38: Genomics for Australian Plants (GAP
Page 39 and 40: VicFlora Usage September 2016 to De
Page 41 and 42: Field work on a high altitude rock
Page 43 and 44: 2. Inspiring Plant Learning OUR COM
Page 45 and 46: The marketing and tourism teams att
Page 47 and 48: Getting kids involved in Indigenous
Page 49 and 50: Bush Foods at Melbourne Gardens Ear
Page 51 and 52: The media launch of the STIHL partn
Page 53 and 54: Table 11: Overview of specific acti
Page 55 and 56:
Brilliant Sun-orchid (Thelymitra ma
Page 57 and 58:
Cranbourne Gardens HIGH QUALITY LAN
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The delegates at the Climate Change
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Table 12: Overview of specific acti
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Progress was made toward achieving
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Melbourne Gardens irrigation water
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Bianca Carnovale, Supervisor Visito
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Action 2018-19 Specific actions Ove
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Eyre Peninsula Blue Gum (Eucalyptus
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A dedicated seat at Melbourne Garde
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Corporate Partners and Sponsors Roy
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Herbarium Volunteers Marina Albert
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A Kangaroo Paw flower (Anigozanthos
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ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS BOARD VICTORI
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Balance sheet As at 30 June 2019 No
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Statement of changes in equity For
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2. FUNDING DELIVERY OF OUR SERVICES
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2. FUNDING DELIVERY OF OUR SERVICES
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3. THE COST OF DELIVERING SERVICES
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3. THE COST OF DELIVERING SERVICES
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4. KEY ASSETS AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT
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5. OTHER ASSETS AND LIABILITIES Oth
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6. HOW WE FINANCE OUR OPERATIONS In
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7. RISKS, CONTINGENCIES AND VALUATI
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8. OTHER DISCLOSURES 8.3 Reserves P
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8. OTHER DISCLOSURES Compensation p
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8. OTHER DISCLOSURES Standard/ Inte
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8. OTHER DISCLOSURES Infrastructure
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Independent Auditor’s Report pin
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Appendix One: Disclosure Index The
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Legislation Requirement Page refere
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Information and Communications Tech
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LEGISLATION The Royal Botanic Garde
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Cover image: Learning Facilitator,
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Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Annual Report 2018-19

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