Mr Stephen Forbes, Executive Officer
Mr Stephen Forbes began his career working on botanical surveys and plant taxonomy at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Here he fell in love with the rich diversity of plants in botanic gardens, the interconnections between ecology and horticulture and the role botanic gardens, as collections-based cultural institutions, play in community life and discourse. Since then he has held leadership roles in botanic gardens in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and was director of the Botanic Gardens of South Australia for 15 years.
His current focus is the connection between people and plants including the cultural and institutional frameworks that shape these connections. His current writing communicates this theme and includes a regular column in the Adelaide Review.
He is currently editing the modern volume for A cultural history of Plants and working on a Ph D exploring the origins of botanic gardens and our changing relationship with plants. He is passionate about the role of cultural institutions in helping us conserve and connect with what’s important in our shared heritage and the contribution such endeavours bring to our society.