Insects of Melbourne Launch

Talk

Free

Welcome to the wonderful world of insects.

Join us for the launch of the new Insects of Melbourne guide:

Hear from insect experts, academics and leaders taking action in the world of urban biodiversity and insect conservation
Take a tour of the Test Garden with Fed Square’s Head Gardener, Russell Larke
Visit stalls from insect organisations to learn how to protect our local critters
Grab your free copy of the Insects of Melbourne guide.

Emceed by Dr Freya Thomas (City of Melbourne), our speakers include Dr Kylie Soanes (University of Melbourne), Kate Pearce (Melbourne Zoo) and Emma Cutting (Heartscapes).

Find out more and register to attend this free event at: https://events.humanitix.com/insects-of-melbourne-launch

Light refreshments will be provided.

Plan your morning

From 9.45am: Grab a refreshment, visit the insect stalls and find a seat
10.30am: Seminar talks will begin
12pm: Visit the Test Garden and continue exploring the insect stalls.

This is a collaborative initiative delivered by City of Melbourne, Fed Square and Heartscapes.

Insects of Melbourne

In 2026, City of Melbourne, Fed Square and Heartscapes have come together to create Insects of Melbourne. This guide introduces you to some of the most common, rare, colourful and curious insects you might spot around the city.

About the speakers

Dr Kylie Soanes
Dr. Kylie Soanes is an urban ecologist and conservation biologist with her sights set on saving nature in cities and towns. She is based at the University of Melbourne where she partners with government, industry and community groups to make real change for biodiversity in urban environments.

Kate Pearce
Kate Pearce is the Manager of Invertebrates, Birds and Pookila at Melbourne Zoo and is also a Director on the elected Board of Invertebrates Australia. She has worked in invertebrate husbandry and conservation for 20 years both here in Australia and overseas, starting her professional invertebrate career at ZSL London Zoo. She is a passionate advocate for our native wildlife, particularly the under-represented, and a staunch believer that you are always on safari when you love bugs.

Emma Cutting
Emma Cutting is Founder and CEO of Heartscapes, an organisation in Melbourne that connects, strengthens, and deepens urban communities of humans, flora, fauna and fungi through regeneration and conservation.

As a part of Heartscapes, Emma designed and now leads the creation and management of the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor, an Australia-first, community-driven, ecology-centred, education-based wildlife corridor for native pollinating insects in the heart of Melbourne.

Through this work, Emma revels in connecting the dots between people, ideas and various fields of expertise, connecting to nature through her street gardening, getting completely covered in dirt and creating positive systemic change.

She has written and self-published a book, Melbourne Pollinator Corridor Handbook, has had her words and images appear in numerous publications and has shared her unbridled enthusiasm for the power of street gardening to thousands around Australia. She is currently creating an online course, Introduction to Street Gardening which will be launched on March 9th.

As well as all of this, Emma is also a mum, pianist and piano teacher and her 12-year journey through Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has helped shape her to be the person she is today.

Photo: Emma Cutting

Acknowledgement of country

Fed Square acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, the Traditional Owners on whose land we gather and work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from all nations of this land.

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Insects of Melbourne Launch

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