On 8 December at 3:30pm AEDT the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub will be holding a free webinar titled ‘Halting the decline: efforts to track & save Australia’s threatened plants.’ The webinar will be held to launch the threatened plant index. Tony will be giving a ten minute presentation on the importance of our threatened plants and issues raised by the index. To register click this link.
We are looking for nominations to fill our Secretary position. If you or somebody you know would like to make a difference to Australia’s only national plant conservation network we’d like to hear from you! This committee member position involves administration of committee meetings and contributing your expertise on Australian native plant conservation issues and projects. Download a nomination form here and send it and any questions to our Business Manager, Jo Lynch, at business@anpc.asn.au
The plant disease Myrtle Rust was detected in Australia in 2010. It has been found capable of infecting 382 native species including paperbarks, tea-trees and eucalypts. Myrtle Rust is listed under the EPBC Act as a key threatening process. Yet there is no nationally coordinated response strategy for this threat. The ANPC’s committee member Bob Makinson helped prepare the Myrtle Rust National Action Plan which provides the foundation for a coordinated national response to this disease. The plan proposes two overarching recommendations and highlights priority actions for the next 3-5 years. Click here to read the plan or head to our website for more information on Myrtle Rust including a 1 page summary of the ANPC’s work on this issue.
The Healthy Seeds Draft Roadmap will be available to the Healthy Seeds Consortium meeting in early December with the current Draft FloraBank Guidelines. There are now 14 FloraBank modules back from review. The Roadmap provides a summary of the elements of the Healthy Seeds project, the findings of assessments on the status of the native seed sector in NSW, the issues and concerns raised in the process and the suggested direction and pathways to address these issues over time. All drafts will be available in the New Year for review, consultation and feedback. The process for dissemination, consultation and alignment with the Greening Australia Project Phoenix are in development subject to COVID status conditions and safety guidelines.
Geoff Pegg, forest pathologist for the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries recently introduced the Fire and Rust project in a webinar. View the recording to learn how the project aims to determine the impact of myrtle rust on native plants in NSW and south east Queensland. To learn more about the project head to the ANPC webpage. Image by Geoff Pegg.