Damian Wrigley is the Manager of Living Collections and Conservation at Botanic Gardens of Sydney, where he is responsible for implementing the Living Collections Strategy and Living Collections Policy.
Damian’s background in biodiversity conservation and environmental science, with more than 15 years’ experience across the government and not-for-profit sectors provides a strong foundation for his work.
Damian oversees the development and implementation of the updated Living Collections Policy, which guides the acquisition, curation, and use of living collections across all three gardens. In addition, he serves as the Oceania Representative and Vice-Chair of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora Plants Committee.
He enjoys working on conservation projects like the Wollemi Pine global metacollection project, which involved sending genetically diverse six-packs of Wollemi Pines to climatically suitable botanic gardens and arboreta around the world as an insurance collection for this iconic Australian species. Describing himself as a ‘plant advocate’, his interest lies in how living collections support better conservation outcomes for the future, both in situ and ex situ.
A typical day for Damian is as varied as the living collections he supports. He might visit one of the Gardens or the seed bank, meet with internal and external teams, collaborate with plant conservation networks nationally and internationally, or advocate for better financial and policy support for plant conservation. He and his team also oversee the online database for the gardens, mapping individual plants, which the general public can see using the Garden Explorer tool for each Garden. They also develop interpretation and placemaking experiences to engage visitors with the plant collections (including their award-winning exhibitions at The Calyx).
Career highlights include leading the Australian Seed Bank Partnership during the 2019/2020 bushfires, and serving as Knowledge Broker for the National Environmental Science Program.
Damian is passionate about the values upheld by the Botanic Gardens of Sydney – daring, collaborative, creative, kind, and inclusive. He believes in equality and ensuring the Botanic Gardens provides everyone a safe and inclusive environment. He is committed to championing diverse cultures and supporting colleagues who face discrimination, with the goal of creating a workplace where everyone feels respected and can contribute to the conservation of plants globally.
His vision for the future is to continue supporting plant conservation and sharing his love of nature with the world.
Damian's vision for the future is to continue supporting plant conservation and sharing his love of nature with the world.