Symposium programme

An outline of the programme of events taking place at the ISHS Greener Cities 2024 symposium

Please note that all tickets include transport to and from Woking, where our suggested hotels are located, to the venue (RHS Hilltop – the Home of Gardening Science), located at RHS Garden Wisley.

A detailed programme can be found at the end of the page.

The venue

RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science is the UK’s first dedicated horticultural scientific centre of excellence, protecting the future of plants, people and the planet at RHS Garden Wisley – our beautiful flagship garden in the south of England. This state-of-the-art facility incorporates science offices, labs, auditorium, learning spaces and public interpretation and engagement spaces; surrounded by three distinct garden areas.

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Please note: When booking online, you are leaving the RHS website and will be directed to The Ticket Factory website. The Greener Cities Symposium booking is being provided by The Ticket Factory on behalf of the RHS. Both the RHS and The Ticket Factory terms and conditions and privacy policies will apply. Please refer to the full privacy notice at the end of this page regarding how your personal data will be used. 
 

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Programme overview

25 September 2024

Delegate registration and the first day of the symposium held at RHS Garden Wisley in RHS Hilltop – The Home of Gardening Science. The day will feature talks, keynote speakers and an exclusive evening reception held at RHS Hilltop.

Day One themes include:
 

  • Rethinking urban horticulture: perspectives from applied biotechnology and environmental engineering (keynote lecture)
  • Ecosystem services delivery and plant choices
  • Indoor planting and green roofs and walls


  • Hedges: from science to application
  • Green city case studies
  • Gardens by the Bay: a green marvel of sustainability (keynote lecture)

26 September 2024

The second day of the symposium held at RHS Garden Wisley in RHS Hilltop. The day will feature talks, keynote speakers and poster display sessions, followed by the Symposium gala dinner being held locally, including entertainment.

Day Two themes include:
 

  • Greening cities in the face of water scarcity through sustainability innovation (keynote lecture)
  • Water and climate

 

  • Urban food
  • Posters

27 September 2024

The third day of the symposium held at RHS Garden Wisley in RHS Hilltop. The day will feature talks and keynote speakers.

Day Three themes include:
 

  • Urban forests for cool cities: building actions from evidence (keynote lecture)
  • Urban trees

 

  • Policy and application

28 September 2024

The post-symposium London Green Infrastructure Tour on 28 September (booked separately) includes a guided walking tour through current and emerging green infrastructure best practice examples and sites in London.

Full programme details

Day One – 25 September

07:50–08:30 Bus transfer to RHS Wisley & short walk to RHS Hilltop

08:30–09:10 Registration & networking

09:10–09:30 Welcome

09:30–10:15 Keynote address: Rethinking urban horticulture: perspectives from applied biotechnology and environmental engineering | Assoc. Prof. Fraser Torpy

10:15–10:35 Landscape plants: functioning for the future | Prof. Ross Cameron

10:35–10:55 Thesauruses, not encyclopedias: embracing probability in plant selection | Dr Harry Watkins

10:55–11:15 Towards a biodiversity metric for urban tree species | Dr Andy Hirons

11:15–11:40 Tea/coffee break

11:40–11:55 The impact of plants on indoor air quality and the wellbeing of building occupants | Dr Jenny Berger

11:55–12:15 Biosolar green roofs: harnessing the combined power of green roofs and solar energy | Dr Peter Irga

12:15–12:30 Green walls as nature-based solutions for urban resilience and human wellbeing: the case of the city of Turin (Italy) | Dr Giulia Danielle

12:30–12:45 Assessment of plant species suitability for green walls in Mediterranean area | Dr Alba Mininni

12:45–13:45 Lunch

13:45–14:05 Impact of air pollution on microbial communities on urban plant leaf surfaces | Dr Letizia Pondini/Prof. Hendrik Schaefer

14:05–14:20 Plant species influence on noise control performance of hedges | Ms Jo Webb

14:20–14:35 Implementation of green infrastructure in schools as a learning tool and a science site-secondary school hedges case study | Dr Tijana Blanusa

14:35–14:50 Environmental footprinting for greener gardens: the potential for personalised calculations of gardening impact to deliver behaviour change | Dr Chloe Sutcliffe

14:50–15:15 Tea/coffee break

15:15–15:30 New tools to support sustainable urban green design: the potential of herbaceous perennials in new demolition waste-based substrate | Dr Federica Larcher

15:30–15:45 Assessing the role of horticultural practices in enhancing urban resilience: a case study of alleyway greening in Chiayi’s historical district | Assist. Prof. Ting-I Lee

OR 13:45–16:00 ICT workshop hosted and sponsored by ICT International (Australia). Draft title: Principles and practical applications of in-situ measurements of plant water status: integrating plant, soil and environmental measurements in the age of internet-of-things technology

  • Recent advances in measurement of sap flow and plant water relations
  • Recent applications related to ecophysiology, hydraulic redistribution, water use measurements for ET measurements to irrigation decision support
  • Key skills requirements for successful installation of field instruments in sap flow and psychrometer
  • Cloud-computing and the advent of on-demand data in soil and environmental monitoring in elucidating soil-plant-environment continuum

16:00–16:45 Keynote address: Gardens by the Bay: a green marvel of sustainability | Mr Felix Loh

16:45–16:50 Wrap-up

16:50–18:30 Drinks reception

Bus transfers back to Woking

Day Two – 26 September

07:50–08:30 Bus transfer to RHS Wisley & short walk to RHS Hilltop

08:45–09:20 Coffee & networking

09:20–09:30 Welcome | Clare Matterson, RHS Director General

09:30–10:15 Keynote address: Greening cities in the face of water scarcity through sustainability innovation | Prof. Diane Pataki

10:15–10:35 Implications of sustainable drainage system design on its infiltration rate and maximum water capacity | Sandy Adriaenssens

10:35–10:55 Planting design and plant combinations - what impact can they have on localised flood mitigation? | Ms Caitlin McLaughlin

10:55–11:15 Environment or trait: what determines plant water use? | Ms Eun Hye Kim

11:15–11:40 Tea/coffee break

11:40–11:55 Assessment of atmospheric CO2 reduction and water use efficiency of C3, C4 and CAM plants in an extensive green roof under drought stress | Prof. Maria Papafotiou

11:55–12:10 Economics and resource efficiency of apartment-scale vegetable growing in Singapore | Carly Anderson

12:10–12:25 Impacts of urban agriculture on pollinator communities: a case study in Bologna (Italy) | Ms Agata Morelli

12:25–12:40 How pollinator-friendly is the City of London? | Dr Konstantinos Tsiolis

12:40–13:40 Lunch

13:40–13:55 Visual observations in hedge planting of the African plum, Amanthungulu as an alternative nutritional food source to enhance food security in urban areas | Prof. Charles Laubscher

13:55–14:10 Regreening urban spaces: a case study of the Genoa Serre Antiche regeneration project and the multifaceted impact of urban agriculture initiatives on local communities | Assist. Prof. Michele D’Ostuni

14:10–14:25 Urban horticulture needs new and adapted knowledge for the targeted development of the green cities of the future | Ms Emilie Sandell

14:25–14:40 Introduction of the Rooftop Greenhouse Demonstration Project for Urban Commercial Buildings in South Korea | Dr Sang Min Lee

14:40–14:55 Green groundwork, navigating policy dynamics, landscape maintenance transitions, and research horizons | Assist. Prof. Paul Bartley

14:55–15:00 Poster and displays session introduction

15:00–15:20 Tea/coffee break and posters

15:20–16:40 Poster and displays session: for a list of posters being presented, please see the end of this page

16:40 Bus transfers back to Woking

19:00–22:00 Symposium dinner

Day Three – 27 September

07:50–08:30 Bus transfer to RHS Wisley & short walk to RHS Hilltop

08:45–09:20 Coffee & networking

09:20–09:30 Welcome

09:30–10:15 Keynote address: Urban forests for cool cities: building actions from evidence | Prof. Stephan Pauleit

10:15–10:35 Effects of management on the provisioning of ecosystem services by mature urban trees | Prof. Dr Alessio Fini

10:35–10:55 ‘Dendro Futura’ – the trees of tomorrow | Assoc. Prof. Henrik Sjöman

10:55–11:15 The role of street trees in reducing summertime local air temperatures in temperate climates | Dr Madalena Vaz Monteiro

11:15–11:40 Tea/coffee break

11:40–12:00 How does transpiration of commonly planted garden trees respond to fluctuations in environmental drivers? | Dr Elisabeth Larsen

12:00–12:20 Navigating the future: unveiling the resilience of trees in evolving UK climates | Mr Kevin Martin

12:20–12:40 Evaluation of the benefits of trees as the basis for drafting the Forte dei Marmi greenery plan | Assist. Prof. Fabrizio Cinelli

12:40–13:00 Ecosystem services at your front door: exploring the treasures of domestic gardens | Dr Karina Corada and a colleague tbc

13:00–​14:00 Lunch

14:00–14:20 The impact of cultural and ecological change on trees in historical public spaces - the case of the existing trees and their history at Kanda Shrine in central Tokyo | Assoc. Prof. Tomoko Takeuchi

14:20–14:40 Enhancing urban ecosystem services: a public engagement approach towards climate-responsive cities | Prof. Elizelle Cilliers

14:40–15:00 Garden anthromes: exploring the continuum between built environment and landscape | Assoc. Prof. Brenda Parker

15:00–15:20 Scaling up from local to regional: progress in mapping climate risk and vulnerability across the West Midlands for decision-making | Dr Sarah Greenham

15:20–15:40 Tea/coffee break

15:40–16:00 The relationship between greenery and temperature in street canyons: a new perspective based on street view images | Prof. Christian Pfrang

OR 13:45–16:00 Water workshop. Draft title: Improved water management in gardening and horticulture

16:00–16:45 Keynote address: to be announced

16:45–17:00 Closing address

17:00–19:00 Depart

Day Four – 28 September

The post-symposium London Green Infrastructure Tour on 28 September runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm (booked separately), and includes a guided walking tour of some green infrastructure installations of interest in London, talks from specialists, packed lunches and shuttle bus transport. 

09:30–10:00 Board buses – Woking

10:00–13:00 Travel and site visits

13:00–14:00 Lunch

14:00–16:00 Travel and site visits

16:00–16:30 Disembark buses – Woking

Poster presentations

To be displayed on the afternoon of Day Two (26 September, 15:20–16:40)

1. UK Government policies on front gardens are making the effects of climate change much worse | Christine Eborall | Ealing Front Gardens Project, London

2. Preliminary study on the cultivation of Chrysanthemum arisanense Hayata, a native ornamental plant, in the Chiayi area, Taiwan | Assist. Prof. Ting-I Lee | National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, Chinese Taipei

3. Comparison of models estimating ecosystem service provisioning in domestic gardens | Megan Sherlock | University of Reading

4. Greening the Urban Landscape: Sustainable Retrofitting of UK Houses through Green Walls and Green Roofs | Chamara Panakaduwa | University of Salford

5. Astro-turfing the city: quantifying the impact of artificial lawns on the structure and function of urban ecosystems | Caitlin Cook | The RHS, Newcastle University

6. Changes in Drainage Ion Concentrations and Carbon Emissions as Affected by Nutrient Correction in Closed-loop Hydroponics Using Coir Substrate | Dr Mi Young Roh | National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science

7. Fire-stimulated flowering among South African geophytes: implications for biodiversity in a changing climate | Carolyn Wilmot | Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Olabisi Onabanjo University

8. Building sustainable urban mobility: A systematic literature review on integrating blue and green infrastructure in transportation planning to reduce carbon emissions | Peiran Wang | University of Gloucestershire

9. Transition to peat-free horticulture: the UK response | Dr Raghavendra Prasad | Royal Horticultural Society

10. Evaluating mixed-material media compositions for green infrastructure applications | Dr Damon Edward Abdi | Louisiana State University Agriculture

11. What is a tree worth? Application of i-Tree software in two pilot studies in Ghent, Belgium | Eva Reybroeck | Vivaverde and Ghent University 

12. Participatory design to develop therapeutic gardens in hospital grounds | Dr Angeliki Paraskevopoulou | Agricultural University of Athens

13. The regulation of planting design in the context of the climate crisis: present and perspectives | Ana Vita
 
14. Does hedge plant choice play a role in flood mitigation potential? | Dr Jordan Bilsborrow | The Royal Horticultural Society

15. The effect of salinity on Petunia multiflora ‘Damask Red’ | Dr Angeliki Paraskevopoulou | University of Athens

16. Assessment of the effectiveness of a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) applied to a large public car park, through rainfall/runoff monitoring and water balance estimation | Dr Mark Gush | The Royal Horticultural Society

17. Enabling greener cities – sharing experiences in taking science to practice | Dr Audrey Timm
 
18. Validation of rainwater harvesting potential models and assessment of implementation efficiency of rainwater capture for irrigation of a heritage landscape and public gardens | Dr Nicholas Cryer | The Royal Horticultural Society

19. Landscape water models for irrigation management of green spaces: integrating landscape crop coefficients, vegetation maps, and water use estimations from soil moisture and sap flow | Dr Nicholas Cryer | The Royal Horticultural Society

20. Can green walls mitigate a shortage of urban green space? A review and proposal | Dr Terence McBurney
 
21. Exploring the possibility of utilizing foliage plants to reduce fine dust precursors in the city | Woo Young Kim
 
22. Assessing the Photosynthetic Activities of Woody Plants as a Metric of Adaptability to the Urban Environment in Budapest | Haimei Chen | Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Science

23. Substrate effect on enzyme activities in an extensive Mediterranean green roof | Dr Francesca Bretzel | Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystem, Italy

24. Naturalising geophytes and forbs in bermuda grass for enhancing the biodiversity of urban lawns | Dr Francesca Bretzel | Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystem, Italy

25. The Green Line: Converting the Athens rail network into a biodiversity corridor | Prof. Maria Papafotiou | Dept. Floriculture & Landscape Architecture, Agricultural University of Athens

26. Unexpected turnover – seeking invasive aliens finished in nature conservation urban island | Dr Milica Rat | University of Novi Sad

27. Plants sequester fine particulates into the intracuticular wax layer of their leaves | Prof. Wan Soon Kim | University of Seoul

28. Agrivoltaics, a new possibility for horticulture | Assoc. Prof. Giuseppe Ferrara | Università di Bari, Dpt. Scienze Suolo


Guidelines for poster presenters

Poster size: A0 (841 x 1189mm)
Poster orientation: Portrait

Please bring along your printed posters on the 25 September to hand in at registration. They will be hung up by conference staff and displayed on the 26 September. Please take down your posters after the poster session on Thursday.

A downloadable pdf version of the full programme will be made available on this page ahead of the symposium. 

View the symposium themes >

Discover the plenary speakers >

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Privacy notice
When booking tickets, you are leaving the RHS website and will be directed to The Ticket Factory website. The Greener Cities Symposium booking is being provided by The Ticket Factory on behalf of the RHS. Both the RHS and The Ticket Factory terms and conditions and privacy policies will apply. The RHS is the Data Controller for the personal data collected and processed for the Greener Cities Symposium. The Ticket Factory will process your personal data provided for this event on behalf of RHS for purposes of processing your payment, issuing your ticket, managing your booking, arranging access (where you have accessibility requirements), and for fulfilling your dietary requirements (where you have booked the Gala and dinner).
 
The personal data provided for this booking will be kept by The Ticket Factory and RHS for one year following Symposium for purposes of any payment queries after the Symposium. It will not be retained by The Ticket Factory following this period, unless you already have an account with The Ticket Factory, are an existing The Ticket Factory customer or have agreed to receive other information from them. Please read the RHS Privacy Policy and The Ticket Factory Privacy Policy for more information on how your personal data will be processed and how to exercise your rights under the Data Protection Legislation. 
 
Please note that this Symposium has been organised by RHS in partnership with the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). The ISHS membership number is requested for the purposes of verifying your ISHS membership, to ensure that you are entitled to register at the discounted ISHS member fee for the Symposium. The ISHS member checks will be carried out by authorised RHS staff via the ISHS system.  ISHS will share your name, contact details and your abstract submission, submitted via the ISHS Rosa system with RHS, in order for RHS to contact you about finalising your abstracts and symposium proceedings and publishing papers. Please read the ISHS Privacy Policy for more information on how ISHS processes your personal data.

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