Following the success of the first two series, the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and the Worshipful Company of Gardeners (WCoG) present the AIPH Green City Briefings 2024/25. These free one hour webinars will demonstrate how successful integrated urban greening provides benefits for the city, its residents, and nature.

Each webinar will provide compelling evidence and examples of the power of ‘living green’ to deliver multiple solutions to city challenges. The first webinar in the series, titled ‘Flourishing urban design with plants’, will take place at 1pm BST on 16th May 2024. The focus of this session will be on how the incorporation of plants into city environments not only provides beauty, but also contributes to improved air quality, reduced urban heat island effect, and enhanced biodiversity.

Leading this first session is Jane Welsh, OALA, FCSLA, who is the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Special Envoy to AIPH and Co-Chair of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Committee on Climate Adaptation. Jane is currently the Project Manager of the Environmental Planning unit of Toronto City Planning, leading the team responsible for creating new innovative solutions to address climate adaptation and mitigation, natural heritage protection and biodiversity loss and change the way Canada's largest city is built.

Two experts will join Jane and will present real life examples of how selecting plants for cities can combat significant issues. The first speaker is Elisa Olivares, Lecturer for the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield. Elisa’s presentation will focus on how research, outreach, and collaboration can help cities in Mexico to improve their biodiversity, where the landscape is experiencing accelerated loss due to climate change, land use, and vegetation loss.

The second speaker for the Briefing is Kathryn Deery, Head Horticulturist at Lurie Garden in Chicago, USA. An urban model of responsible horticulture, Lurie Garden provides a healthy habitat for a wide variety of plants, animals, and insects. The garden offers a four-season experience, blending Chicago’s past, present and future with bold design, dramatic form, and intimate spaces. In her presentation, Kathryn will explore shifting the mindset from one of maintenance to management in the garden and designing with perennials in an urban setting.

Following these presentations, Jane Welsh will lead a panel style discussion, taking questions from the audience, and from those posted on the AIPH Global Green City Forum.

For more information and to register, visit the AIPH Website or sign up to receive the AIPH Global Green City Update.