Annual Conference of the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW Inc, Newcastle, 4 September 2009

[Stephen Ambrose]

The annual conference of the Ecological Society of NSW Inc. (ECANSW) will be held on 4 September 2009 at The Harbourside, Queens Wharf in Newcastle, NSW.  The theme of the conference is “Ecology at the Urban/Rural Interface”.

Information on how to register for the conference ($130 for ECANSW members, $200 for non-members) can be obtained by contacting Amy Rowles at ad...@ecansw.org.au or phoning (02) 9651 2557 or 0418 451 488.

Oral presentations will be presented at the conference on the following topics:

·      Climate change and its implications for vegetation management, ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation into the future (Dr Michelle Leishman, Macquarie University).

·      Managing the bushfire risk (Duncan Maughan, Terramatrix Pty Ltd).

·      Effects of fire on ecosystem processes and biodiversity (Dr Alan York, University of Melbourne).

·      Plant population dynamics flowing vegetation fragmentation – implications for persistence and restoration (Dr Linda Broadhurst, CSIRO).

·      Endangered ecological communities and urban expansion along the northern NSW coast: issues and challenges (Greg Elks, Idyll Spaces).

·      Comments on the accreditation of BioBanking specialists (Dr Danny Wotherspoon, Abel Ecology Pty Ltd).

·      Community advocacy leading to ecological outcomes (Michael Osborne, Councillor, Newcastle City Council & Co-ordinator, Green Corridor Coalition).

·      Implications of the Native Vegetation Act at the Rural/Urban Interface (Hunter/Central Rivers CMA).

·      Novel approaches to the assortment of impacts on aquatic ecology due to coal mining (Dr Peggy O’Donnell, The Ecology Lab).

·      Linking urban centres in rural landscapes: the highway/farmland interface. Case study: widening the Hume Highway and its impacts on threatened woodland birds (Dr Stephen Ambrose, Ambrose Ecological Services Pty Ltd).

More information about ECANSW can be found at www.ecansw.org.au

Dr Stephen Ambrose

President

Ecological Consultants Association of NSW Inc.