Ruby is an experienced horticulturist and arborist, having worked in local government in Victoria before moving to Tasmania where she is Program Leader of Arboriculture and Nursery at the City of Hobart. Her Master of Urban Horticulture degree from the University of Melbourne (Burnley Campus), underpins her applied research activity, particularly in relation to better integration of trees into built environments. Ruby is a passionate advocate for and manager of trees, urban green spaces and biodiversity because she understands their value and contribution to the health and well-being of individuals, communities and to the environment. Ruby has a strong focus on strategy and policy development to ensure consistent and robust decision making, fairness, and equity.
TREENET Symposium Speaker: Ruby Wilson
Speaker Biography
Session Abstract
Ruby will be giving two presentations at Symposium 2022.
Tree Valuation: a council practitioner’s perspective (Day 1 Session)
Street and park trees are essential public assets that require public funds to install and maintain. Unlike most other public assets, the value of an established tree is greater than the cost to purchase and install a replacement tree. A large tree provides significantly more amenity and value to the community than the tree that would be planted to replace it as it may have been growing in the landscape for decades. The application of tree valuations is becoming more commonplace throughout Australian Councils- this talk will reflect on one Councils approach to tree amenity valuations, and also introduce the MIS Method recently developed by Arboriculture Australia Ltd and the New Zealand Arboricultural Association in consultation with the national arboriculture community in both countries.
Tree species trials (Friday forum session)
Planting locally unfamiliar tree species to assess their performance under urban conditions has been a major focus since TREENET was founded. Early species trials now provide valuable information, but they are limited in quantity, species diversity and spatial distribution. Familiarity with a wide range of resilient tree species is fundamental to addressing urban forestry’s needs in relation to urban densification, the changing climate, heat island effects, soil degradation and other challenges. To obtain and share the necessary knowledge TREENET is expanding its tree species trials project and seeking to collaborate with more councils and communities across the nation to introduce a greater range of species to urban cultivation. This presentation will reveal how TREENET is working to engage with communities to record and share existing local knowledge. It will provide an update on the progress of some early street tree species trials and will share ideas on how delegates might support new trials to contribute further to the knowledge base.
