Bringing the blue, green and grey together

A new event series to bring the industry together to achieve better economic, environmental, and social outcomes for communities.

South East Queensland (SEQ) is the fastest growing region in Australia with the population predicted to increase by up to 2.5 million people over the next 20 years. This scale of growth will see significant development across the region, much of which requiring a water sensitive urban design (WSUD) approach to protect and enhance the environmental values and quality of receiving waters and contribute to the liveability of communities. This approach will become increasingly necessary to ensure communities are adaptive and resilient against the impacts of climate change.

Achieving the best economic, environmental, and social outcomes in WSUD requires a multidisciplinary approach involving professionals involved in blue, green, and grey infrastructure planning and design design. Unfortunately, these professionals rarely come together in meaningful ways to collaborate on projects. Further, traditional owners are rarely involved, meaning WSUD projects often miss opportunities to maximise the cultural values of communities, tell the story of places, and contribute to reconciliation at the local scale.

This inaugural annual event will bring together a wide variety of planning and design professionals to discuss how to drive a multidisciplinary and intercultural approach to WSUD that achieves the best outcomes for SEQ communities. An enduring output of the event series will be an industry white paper presenting barriers to the above and practical actions and solutions for consideration by decision makers and stakeholders, including local governments and state government departments.

Hosted by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), Engineers Australia (EA), and Stormwater Queensland (SQLD), who are thrilled to have Citygreen as our Gold Sponsor and TRUEGRID as our Silver Sponsor and Planned Cover and ARUP as Bronze Sponsors; along with the support of The Green Infrastructure Research Labs (GIRLS), International Water Centre, Queensland Water Modelling Network, Flood Community of Practice and the River Basin Management Socis event series represents a new approach to driving meaningful collaboration in the industry in SEQ. It is designed for professionals involved in the planning and design of blue, green, and grey infrastructure, WSUD specialists, cultural heritage specialists, traditional owners, and other stakeholders.

The event will include presentations and questions and answers from the following leading industry professionals in SEQ:

• Sally Boer (E2Designlab) representing blue professionals including aquatic ecologists and WSUD specialists.
• Amalie Wright (Landscapology) representing green professionals including landscape architects, strategic planners and urban designers.
• Katie Fletcher (Arup) representing grey professionals including civil, hydraulic, structural and other engineers.
• Madonna Thomson (Jagera Daran) representing cultural heritage professionals and the Jagera people.

Guided and interactive table discussions and reflections will allow participants to identify and discuss barriers to collaboration and practical actions and solutions to be recorded in the event’s industry white paper. The event will conclude with networking and nibbles and drinks, 5-6pm.

Cost:

• Tickets - $150

Afternoon tea and networking drinks and canapes included.

Tickets are strictly limited, so please register now to secure your spot.

This event is part of the ‘Green & Blue x ‘32’ consortium, a collaboration between industry associations and other stakeholders aiming to leave a green and blue legacy for SEQ after the 2032 Olympic Games. We welcome professionals involved in blue, green, and grey infrastructure design, traditional owners, and others to be a part of the event and discussion.

A certificate of continuing professional development (CPD) can be provided to attendees, upon request.

Advice on getting to the venue on the day can be found on the 480 Queen Street website including car parking rates and opening hours. Attendees will need to go to the Queen Street Lobby of the building and proceed to lifts M – P. The venue has a concierge in the lobby to assist you if you need help with directions.

Refunds are available up to 8 days prior to the event, however a small Eventbrite fee that is part of your ticket, is not refundable.