Talking Plants with Tim Entwisle (live!)
A New Science Talk Series at the Gardens with Tim Entwisle.
Acacia Theatre, Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan
6 May 2026
10am - 11.30am
From $30
1.5 hours
Exploring the Science of Plants
We are excited to launch a new science talk series at the Gardens, led by renowned botanist and science communicator Tim Entwisle. This series explores the fascinating science behind plants, landscapes, and the natural world, bringing together research, global environmental challenges, and the everyday wonders of nature.
Through engaging conversations, Tim Entwisle will be joined by leading scientists to share insights drawn from decades of research and discovery, making complex ideas accessible and inspiring for audiences of all backgrounds. Located at the scientific hub of the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, the series invites visitors to see science not as something confined to laboratories, but as a dynamic force shaping our environment, cities, and future.
The first talk in the series will feature Hervé Sauquet, an internationally recognised evolutionary biologist, who will explore how plant evolution and biodiversity shape the world around us setting the tone for an exciting new program of science at the Gardens.
Hervé is Head of Plant Discovery and Evolution Research at the Australian Institute of Botanical Science, based at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. Under his leadership, Hervé and his team have played a key role in a global collaboration led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to assemble the most comprehensive flowering plant ‘Tree of Life’ ever produced. Published in Nature, the study represents a major milestone in understanding the evolutionary history of flowering plants.
This new program marks the beginning of an ongoing conversation, connecting science, place, and people right here in the Gardens.
Get to know our experts
Professor Tim Entwisle is an author, botanist and former botanic gardens director. Tim was Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria for ten years, two years in a senior role at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London, and eight as head of Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust in Sydney. He is currently Chair of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and an Acting Commissioner with the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, as well as Honorary Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne and Director Emeritus of Botanic Gardens of Sydney. Tim has a broad interest in algae, plants and public gardens, contributing regularly to Australian radio, print and social media. His memoir Evergreen: the Botanical Life of a Plant Punk was published in 2022, and his latest book, The Sceptical Botanist, in August this year.
Hervé Sauquet is an evolutionary biologist and botanist with a broad interest in macroevolution.
His research interests concentrate on questions of floral evolution and macroevolution of flowering plants (angiosperms). Some of Hervé's projects address these questions at large in angiosperms as a whole, while others focus on specific ‘clades’ such as the Magnoliidae and protea family (Proteaceae).
He uses a broad range of approaches including the classification and relationships between plants (systematics) and evolutionary tree reconstruction (phylogeny), using fossil evidence, the latest genetic sequencing techniques and comparing the fine details of flowers and pollen.
A key focus of his current and future research is to unravel and better understand large-scale patterns in the evolution of flowers themselves through the eFLOWER project.
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