7x7 SEED Talks

Now in its third year, 7x7 is a popular feature event of the Nature Festival, proudly supported by Nature Foundation. Hosted by the engaging Jo Laverty from ABC Radio Adelaide, seven entertaining expert speakers will each present a succinct seven-minute talk connected to the festival’s theme of SEED, with themes dipping into science, arts and culture.

We are serious about the time allowed. It will be a race for those competing to get their story across in the most effective way in just seven minutes. You will have the opportunity to express your response to the speakers via the audience “clapathon” rating scale, with the “winner” gaining bragging rights, and everyone enjoying a fun and fast afternoon activity to kick off the Nature Festival fortnight.

Join us at the rear of the Art Gallery of South Australia, just outside of the Radford Auditorium, from 12.30pm for a complimentary drink on arrival, with the presentation commencing at 1pm sharp.

We have gathered a diverse speaker line-up and look forward to seeing how they interpret the brief!

Mitchell Livingston – Seed Bank Manager, Trees for Life and one of Nature Festival's 2026 Seed Stewards

Janine Mackintosh – Kangaroo Island-based assemblage artist, conservationist and Nature Foundation member

Quahli Newchurch – A proud Kaurna, Narungga and Kokatha woman working as a Cultural Fire Practitioner and Ecological Monitoring Manager with Kaurna Kardla, Nature Festival 2026 Cultural Ambassador and Seed Steward

Flavio Perez – Adelaide-based musician, horticulturalist, and Capoeira practitioner known for his "Musical Plants"

Professor Michelle Waycott – Chief Botanist, State Herbarium of South Australia and the H.B.S. Womersley Chair in Systematic Botany at the University of Adelaide Seed Conservation Centre

Two more speakers to be announced.

The Nature Festival programs and manages this event in partnership with Nature Foundation.