by Carla Caruso

Michael Harvey is the new and tenth director of the Botanic Gardens of South Australia and State Herbarium. The Botanic Gardens comprises the Adelaide Botanic Garden, in Park 11, the Wittunga Botanic Garden at Blackwood, and the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden at Crafers.

APA’s Carla Caruso spoke to Mr Harvey about how he envisages the Adelaide Botanic Garden co-existing with the so-called “Lot Fourteen” in Park 11, and the recent “Illuminate Adelaide” event.

Hi, Michael. What were you doing before you joined the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium?

Over the last eight years, I was Assistant Director and Chief Experience Officer at the Australian National Maritime Museum [in Sydney], a role that blended history and maritime archaeology, Navy and defence studies, ocean science and sustainability, and First Nations and migration programs.

However, most of my professional life has been spent in museums of science and natural history – including the Australian Museum in Sydney, the Natural History Museum in London, and Questacon in Canberra.

What attracted you to this new role?

I am an inherently curious person. My time at the Maritime Museum in Sydney was an incredible learning experience in the fields of history and heritage, and of the fundamental and vital relationship Australia and Australians have with its seas, oceans, and rivers.

However, my first love is natural history – and it is very exciting for me to be coming back to a natural science institution, especially one as well-respected as the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium. That mix of scientific endeavour and public science engagement is really what I’m most excited about here.

Following the launch of the Illuminate event at Adelaide Botanic Garden, will you be contemplating any similar events in future? Would you regard the event a success?

Even with the COVID disruption, thousands of South Australians have already been enchanted by Light Cycles. It is a truly mesmerising show. It also reflects a philosophy of programming that the team here has worked hard to develop.

In 2020, the team launched Botanica Lumina, a curated program of evening events that opens up Adelaide Botanic Garden at night. The team has established a range of events, from theatre, film and music to family and food-related events, that bring new audiences to the gardens – which are just a wonderful setting for enjoying Adelaide’s vibrant cultural life.

It is our aim to work collaboratively with local, national and international event organisers to bring more events for visitors to enjoy in the future, as part of Botanica Lumina and other festivals. That said, we also need to consider the day-to-day visitor experience in the gardens alongside the special events and ensure we are continually improving our public offer.

All three of our botanic gardens sites really reflect a diversity of climates and ecosystems, and there is a real opportunity to explore these more in the coming years. So, yes, I truly believe partnership programs that bring new perspectives to our sites are both a success in the present and the way forward for us into the future.

With the development occurring next door at the so-called Lot Fourteen in Park 11, how do you see the Botanic Garden changing when it’ll be neighbouring a commercial/tourist site? What, if anything, will change on the south-western side to link to or screen your new neighbour, with buildings overshadowing some of the garden?

Lot Fourteen is an incredibly exciting project, bringing a real diversity of new projects and people right up to the gardens’ doorstep. The gardens team has been working on a very detailed masterplan for all our sites, and the plans certainly consider how we can best ensure that Adelaide Botanic Garden works effectively with our new neighbours.

The plans are about making the gardens sustainable into the long-term, while giving visitors an exceptional experience and integrating with the new Lot Fourteen innovation precinct and cultural hub on North Terrace.

For example, one activity outlined in our masterplan includes the sympathetic re-use of the Francis Arbour on the western side of the garden to create a new visitor centre between Lot Fourteen and Adelaide Botanic Garden.

This centre will enhance a visit to the garden by providing better information and orientation and also open up new educational and commercial options for us. One of the things I am most looking forward to here is the chance to work with the Lot Fourteen teams as our plans develop side-by-side.