06 September 2012

21 of Australia's most threatened plants



The Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) is celebrating 21 years of promoting and developing plant conservation. To mark the occasion we've released a list of 21 of Australia’s most threatened plants.

The list is being launched today on National Threatened Species Day. National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year - commemorating the death of the last Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936.

National Threatened Species Day aims to raise awareness of the plight of threatened species and to encourage community involvement in their conservation.

The general public is typically aware that many of Australia’s animals, like the Tasmanian Devil and the Hairy-nosed Wombat, are threatened with extinction. But they are often not aware that hundreds of Australian plant species face extinction.

More than 40 Australian Plant Species have become extinct since European settlement and over 1000 species are currently considered likely to become extinct within our lifetime unless something is done to reverse their decline.

Help raise awareness of Australia’s unique and threatened flora by sharing this list among your friends and networks.

VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW LIST BELOW or if you can’t see the slide show in your email visit http://www.anpc.asn.au/21threatenedplants.html

Make sure you click-on 'show info' in the top right corner to see the text. The slide show is best viewed at full screen (select the box with four arrows in the bottom right).



What species do you think should have made the list? We've turned on comments at ANPC NEWS so you can leave a comment under this post or leave a comment on our facebook page.

The ANPC is hosting its 9th National Conference in Canberra 29 Oct - 2 Nov 2012 on the theme Plant Conservation in Australia: Achievements & Future Directions. 

We also have five upcoming workshops on topics covering the identification, management and restoration of native vegetation. 

02 September 2012

ANPC NATIONAL CONFERENCE: call for abstracts and workshop proposals extended until 14 September 2012


The call for abstracts and workshop proposals for ANPC’s 9th national Conference has been extended until 14 September 2012.


The conference webpage was recently updated to include details for the field trips.

Three field trips options are available:

Grassland and Woodlands. Fri 2nd Nov. This tour will visit numerous sites across ACT and NSW where threatened flora are actively being managed, including Old Cooma Common, Kuma Nature Reserve, Scottsdale, and Royalla Swainsona Reserve.

Brindabella Ranges. Fri 2nd Nov. Includes a tour of the Ginini Ramsar wetlands, post-fire vegetation recovery and the Yass River Renewal program.

Kosciuszko National Park. 2 – 3rd Nov. This tour of spectacular Kosciuszko National Park will visit a range of habitat restoration sites including for Spagnum bog and Tall Wallaby Grass.

Registration closes 12 October 2012.

ANPC is now on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +


The Australian Network for Plant Conservation is embracing social media in our efforts to promote and develop plant conservation. You’ll now find us sharing plant conservation news on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +.

We’re also sharing images from current and past ANPC activities on Flickr.

We’ll continue to send out a summary of major news every 3-4 weeks via the ANPC News email newsletter.

If you have plant conservation news you would like us to share please email your news to anpc@anpc.asn.au. Please include "For ANPC News" in the subject.

ANPC WORKSHOP: Jewels in the landscape: managing significant native vegetation remnants


The ANPC is hosting two workshops on the management of significant native vegetation remnants

17 and 18 September 2012, Scone NSW
20 and 21 November 2012, Moree NSW

This two day workshop will provide participants with the skills required to plan, implement and monitor a project to manage and restore grassy woodland remnants.



Learning will be through a combination of theory presentations and field-based activities.

The workshop has a particular emphasis on managing grassy woodland remnants but is relevant to the management of other vegetation types.

Topics covered include:

  • ecology of grassy woodlands;
  • weeds and weed management in grassy woodlands;
  • grassy woodland restoration;
  • grazing for biodiversity;
  • planning a management and restoration project
  • flora identification skills;
  • identifying the natural values of a site and its threats;
  • identifying vegetation community type;
  • vegetation monitoring techniques; and
  • where to get help including an overview of funding opportunities.

ANPC WORKSHOP: Plant identification for grassy ecosystems 24-24 September 2012 Deniliquin NSW


The Australian Network for Plant Conservation is hosting a workshop on Plant identification for grassy ecosystems (Riverina and South – West Slopes) 24th - 25th September 2012 in Deniliquin NSW.

This two day workshop will introduce participants to grassy ecosystems, their diversity, ecology and provide the skills and information required to positively identify a range of common grassland plants.



We will use some of the most commonly encountered plant groups, including grasses, eucalypts and daisies, to introduce you to the best identification resources (printed, on-line, and interactive). You will also learn how to access the experts through the identification services of the major herbaria. Along the way we will de-mystify identification ‘keys’, and introduce you to useful field characters to look for.

The workshop is targeted at the beginner level, but will also provide a good opportunity for those more experienced in plant identification to refresh their skills.

For more information, including a full program, flyer and registration form please visit workshop webpage.

ANPC WORKSHOP: Seed collection, storage and use for native vegetation restoration


The Australian Network for Plant Conservation is hosting a workshop on Seed collection, storage and use for native vegetation restoration 5 November 2012 at the The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan NSW.


This workshop will provide participants with the knowledge needed to effectively collect, store and use seed in native vegetation restoration.

Topics covered include:
  • developing a collection strategy
  • seed collection methods
  • pest and disease management
  • seed banking
  • seed germination and dormancy
Experts in the use of native seed will present a selection of case studies.

For more information, including a full program, flyer and registration form please visit the workshop webpage.

ANPC WORKSHOP: Translocation of threatened plants 6 - 7 November Sydney NSW


The ANPC will be hosting its next Translocation of Threatened Plants workshop 6 - 7 November 2012 at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan NSW.

This two day workshop will provide participants with the knowledge required to effectively plan, implement and evaluate translocation projects for threatened flora.

Questions addressed include:
  • When is it appropriate to use translocation as a tool to conserve threatened species?
  • What needs to be done when planning a translocation program?
  • How should a translocation program be implemented?
  • What ongoing management and evaluation is required?
The workshop will include case studies of translocation programs, highlighting lessons to be learnt and an optional full-day field trip to translocation recipient sites for a range of threatened plants.

Pine Island ACT - site of a translocation project for the endangered shrub Muehlenbeckia tuggeranong — Tuggeranong Lignum
Workshop participants viewing a translocation recipient site for the the endangered shrub Muehlenbeckia tuggeranong during a previous ANPC Translocation workshop. 

For more information, including a full program, flyer and registration form please visit the workshop webpage. You can also read a report on a recent translocation workshop and view images here.

BUSHLAND RESTORATION explored in the latest edition of Australasian Plant Conservation


ANPC members recently received issue 21 (1) of Australasian Plant Conservation.

The theme of the latest issue is bushland restoration.

The issue examines current small scale efforts and local approaches being made in the restoration of bushland areas.

Articles include:

  • The south-east Queensland ecological restoration framework – the ‘how to guide’ for a biodiversity hotspot by David Francis, Rhonda James and Darren McPherson.
  • The use of mitigation planting to achieve strategic planning outcomes in local riparian restoration by Lisa Carter and Murray Swales
  • Tweed-Byron Bush Futures Project: improving urban and peri-urban bushland sustainability in Tweed and Byron Shires by Angus Underwood and John Turnbull
  • High impact bush regeneration: is there a role for heavy machinery? by Lee Andresen
  • A forty year history of bushcare at Bonnet Bay, NSW by Michael Harrington
  • Hawthorn eradication - an Aranda Bushland story by Jean Geue
  • Burn piles and planting at Latrobeana Terrace – Restoration of a grassy forest community in Eltham South, Victoria by Karl Just
  • Ex-situ conservation of the rare Tall Yellow-top Daisy (Senecio pilosicristus) by Michael Thorpe, Dan Duval and Phillip Ainsley
  • Revegetation of Banksia Eucalypt Woodland in Beeliar Regional Park, Western Australia by Linda Metz
  • Restoring the canopy health of native urban bushland and parkland trees by Paul Anthony Barber and Giles Edward StJohn Hardy
  • The Redhand MethodTM - a new method of herbicide application by Tait Bedlington
Regular features include: updates from the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, book reviews, information resources and useful websites, and research roundup.

The next issue will expand on this to examine restoration at a larger, landscape scale. 

Not a member and interested in becoming one? Visit our membership page.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: NRM Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research Grants Program


Applications are now open for the NRM Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research Grants Program (Impacts and Adaptation Grants Program).

The closing date for applications is 2pm AEST, 27 September 2012.

The Impacts and Adaptation Grants Program is part of Stream 2 of the Regional NRM Planning for Climate Change Fund, which has been developed as part of the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future plan.
This merit-based grants program will provide $8 million in funding over four financial years to research institutions to work with regional NRM organisations to deliver information on climate change, its impacts and adaptation responses, and provide guidance on how to use that information.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NSW: Linking Landscapes through Local Action


The 'Linking Landscapes through Local Action’ project was established in 2012 as part of the NSW Governments Green Corridors program.

Funding of $9 million is being allocated to a grant program targeted to public land managers in the Sydney basin that are willing to manage bushland for conservation purposes.

Expressions of interest (EOIs) are being sought from public land managers in the Sydney Basin. For more information visit: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/conservationprograms/linkinglandscapes.htm.

NEW RESOURCE: Plants of the Newnes Plateau website


Doug Benson and Lotte von Richter from the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust have prepared a web site dedicated to the Plants of the Newnes Plateau.

About 590 native plant species have been recorded on the Newnes Plateau in the upper Blue Mountains and its special vegetation includes the nationally listed Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps Endangered Ecological Community and other rare or threatened plants and animals.

The pages provide information on many of the interesting plants and vegetation communities of the plateau as well as information on ecology and history.

NEW RESOURCE: Wildlife & Climate Change: Towards robust conservation strategies for Australian fauna


The proceedings of recent forum held by the Royal Zoological Society of NSW, Wildlife & Climate Change: Towards robust conservation strategies for Australian fauna, are now available online.

Several of the chapters are relevant for terrestrial and aquatic flora/vegetation as well as for fauna. For example Lesley Hughes asks 'Can Australian biodiversity adapt to climate change? and Tony Popic and Glenda Wardle explore 'Extremes: understanding flower-visitor interactions in a changing climate'.

The full publication can be downloaded for free here.

NEW RESOURCE: Grey Box Grassy Woodlands & Derived Native Grasslands of South-Eastern Australia EPBC Act Policy Statement


This illustrated booklet is designed to assist land managers, owners and occupiers as well as environmental assessment officers, consultants and the general public to identify, assess and manage the Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of South-Eastern Australia. This nationally threatened ecological community is listed under Australia's national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

NEW RESOURCE: Progress toward environmental weed eradication in New Zealand


This paper summarizes a decade of plant eradication attempts by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Data on 111 environmental weed eradication programs have been collected and summarized.

Read more here.

EVENT: BGANZ Conference 6-7 September, Sunshine Coast Qld


Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand Inc (BGANZ), the chief body representing the interests of botanic gardens in Australia and New Zealand, is holding its annual conference on the Sunshine Coast Qld 6 -7 Sepetmber 2012. Details here.

EVENT: Bushcare's Major Day Out, September 9th


On Sunday September 9th in Landcare Week, at over 100 city and country locations across Australia, everyone is invited to gather and do their bit for our remaining bushland.

Bushcare’s Major Day Out is a day specifically designed to give of us the opportunity to find out what is being done and what can be done in our own neighbourhood. It’s a fun day where anyone, young and old can work alongside and learn from experts and experienced volunteers. There are a range of activities depending on the location; walks, planting, weed removal, photography workshops as well as native plant identification and well celebrated morning teas.

Councils, Landcare, Bushcare groups and others are invited to post the details of their event on the website. Please send your details (location, organiser, time, details etc) to: info (at) bushcaresmajordayout (dot) org.

EVENT: 11th annual Awabakal wildflower walk, 9 September, Awabakal Nature Reserve, NSW


Join the National Parks Association (Hunter Branch) for a slow walk though the late spring wildflowers of the coastal heath of Awabakal Nature Reserve. For more information phone Maree 0410405815 or John 0400882897.

EVENT: Serrated Tussock Field Day 10 September 2012, Peel NSW


A Serrated Tussock field day will be held at "Brucedale" Peel NSW 10th September 2012 to explore new technologies for an old weed.

The informative and practical day is aimed at land managers, Weeds Officers and other weed professionals. 

Further details can be found here.

EVENT: Practical WET workshop on ‘Managing Constructed Wetlands and Water Plants’ 20 – 21 September Sydney NSW


On 20-21 September 2012 the Sydney Olympic Park Authority will be running a practical workshop on ‘Managing Constructed Wetlands and Water Plants’.

This workshop is suitable for anyone contemplating on construction and management of urban wetlands, especially those who are planning to manage development works around wetlands.

Participants will gain a hands-on learning experience and acquire pragmatic approaches in managing constructed wetlands and water plants, including weeds. Emphasis is placed on successful examples elsewhere and in Sydney Olympic Park.

For more information and to register call 02 9714 8888 or email bookingsvc@sopa.nsw.gov.au

EVENT: Society for Conservation Biology regional conference 21 - 23 September 2012


Society for Conservation Biology’s Oceania section are holding a regional conference on Conservation Biology in Oceania 21st – 23rd September 2012 in Darwin. The theme is 'People and Conservation in Land and Sea Country'.

Land and sea country are terms used by Indigenous people in northern Australia to refer to the environments they have managed for millennia. The philosophy underlying land and sea country management of passing on the knowledge and values inherited from ancestors to descendants is widely shared by conservation biologists across the globe. The meeting will showcase Indigenous conservation management while highlighting the tools and knowledge now available to all conservation practitioners in caring for land and sea country.

More information available from the conference website.

EVENT: Australasian Systematic Botany Society Conference, Perth, 23-28 September 2012


The Australasian Systematic Botany Society will hold their 2012 conference in Perth 23-28th September 2012. The conference theme, Local knowledge, global delivery, follows from last year's landmark International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, where sweeping new changes surrounding the publication of new taxa were proposed.

More information available on the conference website.

EVENT: NCC NSW Annual Conference 27 - 28 October, Sydney NSW


The 2012 Nature Conservation Council of NSW Annual Conference will be held at the University of Sydney Law Foyer on 27-28 October 2012, including the presentation ceremony for the NSW Environment Awards.

The NCC Annual Conference is an opportunity for member groups to gather from across the state and formulate council policy. Further details here.

EVENT: Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia, Perth, 27-30 November 2012


The inaugural Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia Conference, 28-30 November 2012 in Perth, Western Australia is shaping up to being an exciting and inspiring meeting, with seven keynote speakers now announced.

The symposium sessions have been announced and include an ANPC symposium on the role of plant translocations in restoring and maintaining biodiversity: policy, planning and practice. The symposium will include presentations by practitioners from across Australasia exploring the current and future role of threatened flora translocation in restoring and maintaining biodiversity. Issues to be discussed include: the role of translocation as a climate change adaptation tool, the importance of information sharing and guidelines, and lessons learnt from past translocation projects.

For more information and to register visit the conference web page.

CONTRIBUTE your news


Do you have any plant conservation news that could be of interest to the readers of ANPC News?

Email your news to anpc@anpc.asn.au making sure to put "For ANPC News" in the title.

Please keep your news item concise, preferably one paragraph, and provide a link that readers can click for further information. Images welcome.