John Rayner

John Rayner is an Associate Professor in Urban Horticulture at the Burnley Campus of the University of Melbourne, within the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences in the Faculty of Science. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma and a Bachelors Degree from the University of Melbourne, along with an Applied Diploma from the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture at Burnley Campus. With a career spanning over 36 years at the University of Melbourne, Rayner has served as Director of Urban Horticulture, Senior Lecturer, and currently holds an Honorary Principal Fellow position in the Green Infrastructure Research Group. Recognized as an award-winning educator, he has taught courses on plants and planting design, therapeutic landscapes, and urban greening, while engaging extensively with industry as a horticultural consultant.

Rayner's research focuses on green infrastructure, encompassing green roofs and façades, biodiverse streetscapes, urban plantings, plant selection for challenging environments, biochar-amended substrates, water retention additives, and thermal performance of vegetated systems. He co-leads the University's green roofs research and development program and established the Burnley Green Roofs facility, Australia's first dedicated green roofs research, education, and outreach site. Notable contributions include co-creating the Burnley Plant Guide and a comprehensive green roof plant guide, leading the Woody Meadow project as Chief Investigator, and collaborating with the City of Melbourne on biodiverse streetscape designs showcased at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. His work has advanced climate adaptation strategies through urban forestry and greening initiatives. Rayner has authored numerous publications, accumulating over 1,800 citations, including 'Ten years of greening a wide brown land: A synthesis of Australian green roof research and roadmap forward' (2021), 'Designing and managing biodiverse streetscapes: key lessons from the City of Melbourne' (2022), 'Rooting Volume Impacts Growth, Coverage and Thermal Tolerance of Green Façade Climbing Plants' (2021), 'Biochar particle size and amendment rate are more important for water retention and weight of green roof substrates than differences in feedstock type' (2021), and 'Green roof substrate physical properties differ between standard laboratory tests due to differences in compaction' (2020). His influence extends to public lectures, industry partnerships, and advancing sustainable urban landscapes in Australia.

Professional Email: jrayner@unimelb.edu.au