Paul Janssens ' Managing the Parliament House landscape with biological controls'

Parliament House is now 24 years old. It has 23 hectares of landscape, which include the grass ramps, 17 courtyards and 9 hectares of native gardens. The use of pesticides for insect control is difficult due to the nature of the air conditioning air intakes for the building  as well as the numbers of working staff and visitors to Parliament House. The Landscape Services Section have implemented a very successful Integrated Pest Management program and utilise biological control methods such as releasing predator insects to control the pest insects. Paul Janssens, Assistant Director Landscape Services, will discuss the management of the Parliamentary landscape and touch on the Integrated Pest Management program being used at Parliament House.

Paul has worked in the horticulture industry for 30 years, including at the ANBG between 2002 and 2008 as Horticulture Manager and then Curator Living Collections. He previously worked on the Parliament House gardens from 1986 to 2002, and has been in his current position since 2008.