News published: 06 July 2023

The Royal Botanic Gardens Board has announced that David Harland will take up the role of Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria following the retirement of Professor Tim Entwisle in August.

A highly regarded leader in the global biodiversity sector, David has held several executive roles at the internationally renowned Eden Project, a leading visitor attraction and botanic garden located in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, which comprises two large-scale biomes, an outdoor garden and integrated educational programs. He was CEO of the Eden Project during the pandemic 2020-2022 period, overseeing a major re-organisation of the operational, educational and commercial aspects of the business, and as CEO of Eden Project International, has led Eden’s expansion through multiple projects and iterations across the UK and the world.

Royal Botanic Garden’s Board Chairperson, Chris Trotman, said David brings exceptional experience to the role, and a visionary approach to creating and communicating biodiversity projects on a local, national and international level.

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria encompasses the historic Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, an array of research facilities and plays a critical role in conserving and promoting plant diversity and protecting threatened species.

“I am incredibly excited and honoured to be joining the passionate team at RBGV, and to build on the considerable work of the last decades,” David said. “Rarely do you get an opportunity to work with historic 175-year-old and award-winning 20-year-old gardens simultaneously, and I am excited to work towards reaching new audiences, driving forward the Gardens’ important science and education programs and to contributing to debates about how we can help humanity to maintain the interdependence that we have with the natural world,” David said.

David takes up the position in September 2023.

We are delighted to have The Royal Botanic Garden Victoria as one of our Patron Members, and as part of his new role, we happily welcome him onto International Advisory Council.