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Into the Trees with Georgina Reid and Costa Georgiadis
Presented by National Gallery of Victoria
DETAILS
Ticketed
NGV Great Hall
180 Saint Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC, Australia
Into the Trees is a compelling panel conversation hosted by Georgina Reid, editor of Wonderground and author of The Planthunter: Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants (Thames and Hudson, 2018) and Costa Georgiadis, host of ABC’s Gardening Australia and a passionate landscape architect. This event explores the vital cultural, social and ecological roles of trees in Australia’s urban environments. As our cities grapple with the pressures of climate change and urban expansion, trees are no longer just part of the scenery—they’re part of the solution. Join leading voices in landscape and ecology, design and philosophy as they examine the evolving role of trees in cities, explore strategies to increase canopy cover, and imagine the urban forests of the future. Whether you’re a gardener, designer, policymaker, or simply tree-curious, Into the Trees is an invitation to rethink the places we live—one leaf, limb, and root at a time.
Participants
Costa Georgiadis
Costa Georgiadis is a landscape architect who has an all-consuming passion for plants and people - he knows how to bring out the best in both of them, and takes great pleasure in bringing them together. Costa believes in embracing and celebrating mother nature's cycles and seasons and nurturing her balance, beauty and bounty organically. His holistic approach is all about gardening the soil and the soul.
Georgina Reid
Georgina Reid is a writer, author and founding editor of Wonderground, a print and online publication exploring questions of nature, culture and care. She has contributed essays, commentary and poetry to many national and international books and magazines including After the Australian Ugliness (Thames and Hudson, 2021), Writing Water: Rain, River, Reef (Red Room Poetry, 2020), Cressida Campbell (National Gallery of Australia, 2022), Dumbo Feather, Openbook, Gardens Illustrated, and many others. Her first book, The Planthunter: Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants, was published in Australia by Thames and Hudson in 2018, and in the USA by Timber Press in 2019. Georgina lives amongst she-oak trees on the banks of Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River. Her work and ideas are deeply influenced by the tidal landscape she calls home.
Dr Freya Thomas
Dr Freya Thomas is a quantitative plant ecologist, who has previously worked doing academic research, long-term monitoring programs for the State Government and now works as an Urban Forester for the City of Melbourne. Freya’s current work involves renewing the ten-year street tree planting plans (Urban Forest Precinct Plans) for City of Melbourne.
Kirsten Bauer
Kirsten Bauer is the Global Design Director of ASPECT Studios, a global urban design, landscape architecture, living architecture, and wayfinding design practice. ASPECT Studios has received international awards for its design excellence, creativity, and city-shaping projects, with a particular focus on public landscapes. She is a respected and award-winning design leader with 30 years of expertise in public realm and infrastructure strategy and design across Australia and internationally. Kirsten has led significant award-winning projects across Australia and internationally, such as The Greenline Project, Yagan Square, Prahran Square, Caulfield to Dandenong Linear Park, Monash University and the new Student Precinct at University of Melbourne, Victorian Desalination and various parks, cemeteries, and squares in Melbourne. She is a member of several Australian government industry-appointed design review panels and committees, and a long-standing juror and practice advisor to the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, where she also holds an Adjunct Professorship. Kirsten was a member of the inaugural Birrarung Council (a bi-cultural council), formed by the Yarra Protection Act, and the one of the protagonists of the recent Reimagining Birrarung Exhibition, which showcased seven landscape architecture practices at the NGV. She also served as co-Creative Director of the 2019 International Festival of Landscape Architecture and the Future Park Competition.