ANPC WORKSHOPS: Myrtle Rust: a new threat to Western Australia's biodiversity, Perth, Bunbury & Albany 20 - 24th May

Registration is open for upcoming ANPC workshops on Myrtle Rust.

This one day workshop to be held at various locations in Western Australia will provide training in Myrtle Rust recognition, reporting, risk assessment, and management concepts and techniques.

These one-day events will present a comprehensive summary of what is known of this new threat to Australia’s biodiversity, the knowledge gaps, and management options.

The emphasis will be on wild-plant conservation, but there will also be information relevant for people from the horticulture, forestry, and bush-products sectors who wish to know more about Myrtle Rust, how to monitor for it, and where to find information on the control measures available for horticultural sites and suppliers.

The day will also include workshop sessions to assist you to think about regional priorities, and options for changes to work practices for your sector.

This course will provide comprehensive information on the disease, and help you to:

• recognize the disease in the field and in cultivation
• identify species and ecological communities at risk
• decide what to monitor before and if the disease arrives
• assess the risks and consequences of spreading the disease, and how to avoid doing so.

ANPC presenter:  Bob Makinson (Conservation Botanist - Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney)

For more information and to register please visit the workshop webpage: http://anpc.asn.au/courses/Myrtle_Rust_WA_2013/Myrtle_Rust_Courses.html

WANTED: Images of Australian threatened flora and communities

The ANPC is seeking images of Australian threatened flora and communities for a slide show on 'Some of Australia's most threatened plants'.

The slide show will be launched online 18 May 2013 as part of Fascination of Plants Day.

Images can be habitat shots, close-ups, or of someone doing something (e.g. seed collecting, monitoring or planting). The slide show will be similar in style to one we released last year for Threatened Species Day.

Preference will be given to critically endangered and endangered entities.

Images need to be original high resolution and be accompanied by information (less than 150 words) on the species or community pictured, status, threats to its survival, and what is being done to conserve it. 

Photographer credits will be included so please include photographer name.

Please email images and information to projects (at) anpc.asn.au by 5pm Wed 8th May.

We'll upload the final slide show to the ANPC website by Wed 15th May ready to promote via social media on World Fascination of Plants Day 18 May.

Here's a list of all Australian World Fascination of Plants Day events.

Image credit: Banksia brownii, one of the species included in a previous slideshow on 21 of Australia's most threatened plants. Photographer: Sarah Barrett.

CALL FOR ARTICLES for Australasian Plant Conservation (APC) Vol. 22 (1): Fire & threatened biodiversity

**Note - this issue is almost full - so if you wish to submit an article please contact the editor, Selga Harrington (selga.harrington (at) gmail.com, asap. Deadline for submissions is Friday 10 May 2012.**

We are seeking articles for the June – August 2013 issue of Australasian Plant Conservation (APC), the bulletin of the ANPC.

The issue will be on the theme ‘Fire and threatened biodiversity’.

Fire is a major tool available for land management and can be used to protect property from wildfire, protect fire sensitive habitats, maximise biodiversity and manage woody weeds. Although fire is an important management tool, there are many gaps in our knowledge of how and how often it can and should be used.

We wish to explore the use of fire for plant conservation, in particular for threatened species and ecological community management.

Articles can range from overviews of the use of fire as a management tool, to case studies illustrating particular examples.

Further guidelines can be found here.

We also welcome:
· book reviews
· titles of interesting recent publications or resources, and where they can be found
· conference, workshop, course and fieldwork announcements
· details of relevant publications, information resources and websites.

Deadline for submissions Friday 10th May.

INTERESTING BITS IN BRIEF: A summary of recent plant conservation news and articles

We've been sharing plant conservation news and articles of interest almost daily through our social media channels Twitter, Facebook and Google +. We're now also sharing images of our events and activities via Instagram.

{Alison Shapcott of University of the Sunshine Coast leading a tour of a compensatory habitat site during a recent ANPC Translocation workshop. Images of this and other ANPC workshops can be found on our Flickr page.}

Here's a sample of what we have shared recently:

Funding opportunity for community groups helping to conserve threatened ecosystems: Australian Ethical community grants.

Long-term planting experiment investigating cost-benefit trade-off between biodiversity & carbon.

'Carbon plantings will only have real biodiversity value if they comprise appropriate native tree species'.

Caring for our Country Community Environment Grants close 8 May.

PhD & Post Doc positions available studying lineage diversification in New Zealand plants. Close 1 May.

Response of grassland to stock exclusion - Ian Lunt provides a great overview of a recent study.

NSW Government today released the White Paper – A new planning system for NSW. Public feedback invited.

Australian soil databases can be accessed through SoilMapp iPad app - provides soil info for any location.

Uncertainty re value of fire for managing grasslands that have long history of fire exclusion & grazing (John Morgan claims this is 'the best paper of the year!').

Which of our forests should be managed for carbon?

Drivers of rainforest destruction. 'If we act fast we can start changing the story'

Funding opportunity: Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife for field & education projects. Current round due 3rd May.

All of the presentations from the TERN 2013 Symposium are now available online.

Events

EcoArts Conference 12-13 May 2013 Wollongong NSW.

Fungimap conference, Vic, 23-27 May.

Fascination of plants Day 18 May. Here's a list of Australian events.

Bushfire Conference: Fire & Healthy Landscapes: resilient environment, resilient people, 4-5 June 2013, Sydney NSW. Includes a symposium on using fire for restoration.

Big Science Communications Summit: Pathways to inspiring Australia 6 & 7th June 2013 Sydney.

Atlas of Living Australia Science Symposium, June 12-13 in Canberra

Australian Mine Rehabilitation Workshop 6-8 Aug 2013 Adelaide, SA.

NSW Weeds Conference, 9-12th September in Corowa (Murray River region)

24th annual Queensland Landcare Conference, 27 – 29 September 2013, Warwick Qld

31st NSW Environmental Education Conference Sept 2013.

Do you have any news you would like to share?

We would love to help promote your events, research outcomes or activities.

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