Lee Rose

2025 | Horticulture

“Sustainability isn’t just about caring for the environment, it’s about creating practices that endure, inspire, and leave a positive legacy. Every thoughtful choice, from composting to water-wise planting, is a step toward a healthier planet and a more resilient future.”

I am passionate about different native plants around the world, and how they interact with the environment.

I want to preserve the natural environment, and ensure areas we modify are filled with natural beauty, through garden design. I enjoy helping people with their gardens, including my grandmother’s.

I care for her land, with both my heart and my hands. I am also inspired by botanical gardens, specifically the Adelaide and Wittunga Botanic Gardens. These give me a sense of hope; that I could design and execute beautiful gardens of my own.

With my scholarship I travelled to the United Kingdom and gained work experience at Kew Gardens where I took part in a variety of environmental conservation activities, including weeding, bird box surveys, butterfly and bumblebee surveys, and scouting trees for a canopy-dwelling caterpillar survey.

I was warmly welcomed by my team and department and was given a tour of the area where I would be working. The staff were incredibly friendly and generous with their knowledge, which made settling into the role an enjoyable experience.

One of the main projects I worked on was the caterpillar survey, which involved collecting leaf samples from different tree species, particularly non-native oaks, and examining them for caterpillars or evidence of their activity, such as leaf mining and feeding. The samples were carefully recorded according to the direction of the tree from which they were collected.

The purpose of this research is to identify which climate-resilient tree species are most likely to support thriving ecosystems over the next 70 years, based on Kew’s climate predictions for 2090.

Through these experiences, I developed a stronger interest in environmental conservation and became interested in potentially shifting my career focus towards conservation work in Australia.

Lee’s scholarship relates to UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs): 3, 11, 13 & 15.

“They are already planning on what they will do with what they'll learn when they come back home. Forward thinking and determination is present.”

-Assessor Panel