Australia’s biggest herbarium facility with a collection of more than one million plant specimens has opened right here in the heart of Macarthur country.
Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the National Herbarium of NSW in its new home at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan would become an important cultural and scientific asset.
Speaking at the official opening of the $60m facility, he said the herbarium would safeguard the Australian Institute of Botanical Science’s growing collection of important plant specimens.
“This has brought an important cultural and scientific attraction and more than 100 leading scientists to work in Sydney’s South West,” Mr Ayres said.
NSW minister for infrastructure, cities and active transport Rob Stokes said the new herbarium held one of the most significant and precious botanical resources in the Southern Hemisphere.
“This world class facility will play a crucial role in discovering, understanding and protecting specimens for future generations and reinforce the Australian Institute of Botanical Science as a global plant science leader,” Mr Stokes said.
“In the midst of climate change, habitat loss and the extinction crisis, Australian scientists are more motivated than ever to ensure plant species are conserved, which is vital to all life that depends on them.”
Member for Camden Peter Sidgreaves said he was proud to welcome the Herbarium to Sydney’s South West after close to 170 years at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
“With more than 8,000 new plant specimens being added to the collection every year, the herbarium will support vital scientific research and be essential in informing decisions about the conservation of our natural environment,” Mr Sidgreaves said.
“The project has generated more than 350 jobs already, with expectations to create more as the science hub expands and gives the region an economic boost with plans to host public programs.”
The facility’s innovative, functional, and sustainable design is inspired by the waratah seed pod of the NSW floral emblem.
A key feature of the facility are the six protective vaults with precisely controlled environmental conditions, which are assisted by the building’s elegant, long span “fly-roof” to shield the collection from bushfires and extreme weather conditions.
As part of the move to the new facility, the largest herbarium imaging project in the southern hemisphere took place to capture each specimen as a high-resolution image to create a new tech-enabled era of management.
