Thursday Talks

Visitors listening to a talk in the theatrette

12.30 pm on Thursdays from February through November — Theatrette

Our Thursday lunchtime talks cover diverse aspects of the natural world in Australia and around the globe.

The talks are aimed at a general audience and everyone is welcome. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations to support Gardens’ programs and development and we thank all those who have donated.

It is a good idea to reserve a seat in advance, as talks can book out very quickly. The booking link for each talk is on the Friends calendar website entry for the respective talk. Bookings can be made from about 30 days in advance until Wednesday night before the talk.

Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team.

Thursday Talks – May to August 2024

Please see the Friends calendar website for a detailed description of each talk.

2 May 12:30pm

Rachael Dawes, Carma Sweet, Sam Ning and Jo Wallner

Canberra’s trees: the plans, the problems, and the progress

9 May 12:30pm

Dr Gemma Hoyle

Can we bank the cloud forests? Conservation and ecology of threatened species endemic to tropical mountaintops in Far North Queensland

16 May 12:30pm

David Shorthouse

STEP by STEP: 15 years for Forest 20

23 May 12:30pm

Dr Tobias Hayashi

The sexual chemistry of greenhood orchids

30 May 12:30pm

Graham Fifield

Can I get paid to plant trees?

6 June 12:30pm

Dr Roger Farrow

Four years on from the 2020 mega-fires. The course of recovery of the vegetation in Morton and Tallaganda National Parks

13 June 12:30pm

Christina Gee

Quolls on tour – detecting trait differences between reintroduced and dispersing eastern quoll populations

20 June 12:30pm

Professor David Lindenmayer AO

The Forest Wars – debunking myths around native forest logging

David will be happy to sign copies of his new book after the talk.

27 June 12:30pm

Emeritus Professor Jim Hone

Birds of Namadgi National Park

4 July 12:30pm

Professor Steve Webb

Empty deserts: Megafauna Demography and Extinction

Steve will lead a walk among the megafauna after the talk. Steve’s book is titled Corridors to Extinction and the Australian Megafauna.

11 July 12:30pm

Dr Valerie Caron

Dung Beetles

18 July 12:30pm

Sally Ingham

The Plant Science Learning Hub, inspiring students and empowering educators

25 July 12:30pm

Dr Nicki Taws

Native Grassland Restoration

1 August 12:30pm

Jo Harding

Taxonomists don’t stuff things

8 August 12:30pm

See details on the Friends of ANBG website.

15 August 12:30pm

Jay Nicholson

Plant dieback and drought tolerance in Uluru-Kata Tjuta

22 August 12:30pm