Threatened Plant index Webinar Special

Halting the decline: efforts to track & save Australia’s threatened plants

DATE: 08 December 2020
TIME: 3:30 - 5:00 pm AEDT

Plants make up a huge proportion of Australia’s biodiversity - and a large fraction of the species listed as threatened with extinction in Australia. From intricate orchids with their bizarre reproductive biology to towering wollemi pines, our threatened plants are part of our identity. Sadly, they get a very small amount of the attention or resources dedicated to monitoring and recover.

The Australian Threatened Plant Index - Australia’s Living Planet Index for plants - is helping us to understand how our plants are doing, so we can see what needs to be done to save them from extinction. Come along to hear about this new tool, the incredible efforts of dedicated plant-lovers to track and save our threatened plants, and how you can get involved.

Supplementary resources: Available on Dropbox.

Speakers

		Speaker: Hugh Possingham (Professor, The University of Queensland) is the Chief Scientist of Queensland and a Professor at The University of Queensland. He uses decision science thinking, modelling and data to save species and ecosystems, marine and terrestrial.
		Speaker: Micha Jackson (Research Fellow, The University of Queensland) is a postdoctoral research fellow at The University of Queensland. She has engaged in wildlife monitoring for over a decade, and is passionate about achieving improved environmental outcomes through evidence-based research and strong collaborative partnerships.
		Speaker: Tony Auld (President, Australian Network for Plant Conservation) is a retired Senior Principal Research Scientist with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. He has over 30 years of experience developing policy and on-ground management for how to best mitigate threats to biodiversity. Tony’s research includes threats to plant species and their habitats and extinction risks for threatened plants and ecological communities. He is also a Professorial Fellow at University of NSW and University of Wollongong.
		Panellist: Judy West (Executive Director, Australian National Botanic Gardens & Assistant Secretary: ANBG, Partnerships & Science Branch, Parks Australia). Judy’s scientific expertise is in plant systematics and phylogenetics, biodiversity informatics and conservation biology. She has been rewarded the Nancy T Burbidge Medal and Officer of the Order of Australia for her significant contribution to Australia’s botanical sciences.
		Panellist: Jennifer Silcock (Research Fellow, The University of Queensland) is a Research Fellow with the Threatened Species Recovery Hub at the University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. She has focused on threatened species research, surveys, monitoring, planning and recovery for the past 15 years, and is currently compiling a National Action Plan for Australia's Threatened Plant Species.
		Panellist: Stephanie Stuart (Senior Project Officer, Saving our Species Program R&D, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment) Dr Stuart is a Principal Project Officer with responsibility for research liaison in the Saving our Species program, a flagship framework which maximises the security of NSW’s threatened biodiversity. She holds an AB from Harvard University and a PhD in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley.
		Panellist: Ashley Leedman (Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Report and Improvement, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment ) heads up the MERI team which helps to develop a Long-term Monitoring Program for Australian Government NRM investments. Current projects include developing monitoring standards for field data; a pilot Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Network; and exploring ways to better capture threatened species data.
		Facilitator: Rachel Morgain (Knowledge Broker, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub) is a knowledge broker and environmental researcher with extensive experience building partnerships to ensure environmental research is designed, developed and delivered to the people who need it.