Here you will find a calendar of Friends’ activities in the Gardens including lunchtime talks, social events, exhibitions and the ever-popular spring and autumn plant sales. In addition to events arranged by the Friends, we include some events arranged by the Gardens and by other organisations. A full list of events arranged by the Gardens is in their What’s On webpage.
Thursday talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated. Please note: unless otherwise indicated, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette.
It is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; talks may be booked out very quickly. Bookings can be made from about 30 days in advance until the night before the talk or until seating limits are reached.
The Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au
The 1990s saw a lot of fire on Canberra’s hills and ridges. Things have changed a lot since then – for better or worse. Rick McRae was tasked with recording events while working as a Planning Officer or Arson Investigator, giving him a unique perspective on events.
Join a free guided walk to get up close and personal to our wonderful Australian flora, focusing on the interesting details of Australian plants that we might not notice at first glance. These one-hour guided walks are held at 11am and 2pm each day Monday 15 June to Sunday 21 June.
The next Plant Recognition Group workshop will focus on Banksia (family Proteaceae). Booking ESSENTIAL: Please send your name and phone number to plantname@friendsanbg.org.au
Rosemary, a retired plant ecologist, will talk about her trip to the floodplains of the Cooper Creek and associated areas in SW Queensland, chasing the post-flooding rains surge in flowers.
The next Cameras and Café Walk will be held on Saturday 20 June 2026. To be part of it you need to be at the bus stop at 8.40 am. Participants can choose to move around the Gardens as a group or head off with their camera individually. We reconvene for a chat at Pollen Cafe at around 10.30 am.
Fiona, Threatened Species Commissioner, will talk about recent developments with the implementation of the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032, and awareness raising events in the community.
The next Photographic Group regular meeting is at 10.00 am Friday 26 June. The feature of this meeting will be a session conducted by Cristy Froehlich to constructively critique images brought to the meeting by members specifically for this purpose.
Gina will discuss the first ever listing of an Australian river system, the River Murray—Darling to Sea, as a threatened ecosystem under national environmental law. (Photo: Ben Good)
Rod, from ANU, will discuss how orchids use specific floral volatiles to attract pollinators, highlight new insights on the evolution of Australia terrestrial orchids and outline his ongoing project on the pollination of the mysterious NSW underground orchids.
A special Cameras and Café Walk will be held on Saturday 11 July 2026. The Gardens are very kindly allowing us to commence at 7 am, which is just before dawn. This will maximize the chances of capturing fog and/or frost in the early hours of light.
Dr Phillip Kodela is Botanist and Executive Editor of the Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Parks Australia Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Come on a free guided walk through the Australian National Botanic Gardens and look at the life story of plants on earth, the main evolutionary changes that have occurred in plants over 3 billion years and how plants have changed our planet. These one-hour guided walks are held at 11am and 2pm Mon 20 July to Sun 26 July.