A forum next month at Wangaratta will share the outcomes and findings of Bush for Birds, a $5M five-year project aimed at restoring habitat for the Regent honeyeater and Swift parrot.
The Grassy Woodlands Conservation and Research Forum will be hosted by the North East Catchment Management Authority (CMA), together with project partners, on Friday 12 May at the Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway.
The forum is supported by North East Catchment Management Authority (CMA) with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Senior project officer with North East CMA, Phillip Falcke said the forum would examine the current state of our Grassy Woodlands ecosystem and compare them against growing trends in climate change, human activity and biodiversity decline.
“The Forum will ask, what do these ecosystems need for their future restoration, conservation and persistence in our landscape?,” Mr Falcke said.
Speakers will cover topics including findings across the Bush for Birds project, the importance of volunteers, ecological thinning, cultural burning and pest control; and it will help delegates to feel better prepared to meet the growing needs of these threatened ecosystems.
Keynote speakers are David Lindenmayer, Professor of Ecology and Conservation Biology at the Australian National University; and David Watson, Professor of Ecology, Charles Sturt University.
Professor Watson will be the speaker at the dinner that will follow the main forum at the same venue.
Professor Lindenmayer is a world-leading expert in forest ecology and resource management, conservation science, and biodiversity conservation, and is one of Australia’s most-published authors of scientific papers in the field of ecology. He runs five large-scale, long-term research programs in south-eastern Australia, primarily associated with developing ways to conserve biodiversity in farmland, wood production forests, plantations, and reserves.
Professor Watson is a leading researcher across three main areas: managing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes; developing reliable ways to monitor the environment; and the ecology of parasitic plants. With a focus on bird ecology, most of his research is applied, aimed at understanding how ecosystems work and using that evidence to improve management of natural systems.
Mr Falcke said other speakers would be announced in coming weeks.
Tickets now on sale for $20 at https://events.humanitix.com/grassy-woodlands-forum and delegates can choose to attend the forum only or the forum and the forum dinner with Professor Watson.