Jerry Coleby-Williams is an English–Australian conservationist,

horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, plant

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and television and radio personality. He has been a presenter on ABC TV’s ''

Gardening Australia ''Gardening Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle television program which suggests and promotes organic and environmentally friendly ways of gardening. It is created by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs on ABC TV, in an hour- ...

'' since 1999.‘Meet the Team: Jerry Coleby-Williams’, Gardening Australia http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s731096.htm He is the director of the Seedsavers Network ‘Our people’, The Seedsavers Network, http://www.seedsavers.net/about/our-people and an Executive Member of the

Queensland Conservation Council The Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) or Queensland Conservation is a non-governmental organisation that represents all the major conservation organisations of Queensland state in Australia. The organisation have been working to protect, cons ...

. Coleby-Williams was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He first trained with the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

before going on to study a Diploma in

Horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

. He then worked in a variety of horticultural positions around London in the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

. In 1992 he emigrated to Australia, following his ongoing passion for West Australian

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

s. This led to his work at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government ar ...

as Senior Horticultural Supervisor for Displays and Connections. In this position he researched and designed the Garden's Rare and Threatened Plants Garden, which in 1999 received an award of excellence from the Australian Institute of Horticulture. In 2003 he moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in order to establish a sustainable house and garden. This house – "Bellis" - provides a model for ways in which urban Western citizens can reduce their

ecological footprint The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...

, and adapt to climate change and

peak oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; while ...

. Coleby-Williams is extensively involved in publishing about gardening in Australia. He is the horticultural editor of ''Organic Gardener'' magazine. He was also the consultant for content and one of the writers of the book, ''Gardening Australia - Flora: the gardener's bible'', which is Australia’s largest illustrated plant dictionary. Jerry Coleby-Williams is best known for his contribution to

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

. His model of sustainable horticulture provides a bridge between

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. In 2009 he won the Australian Savewater Awards for the Built Environment Category. He is also noted for his discovery of a new plant species, the Harlequin Bell ( Darwinia polychroma), which is an endangered species from Western Australia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleby-Williams, Jerry Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian horticulturists Australian television presenters Organic gardeners