Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s Sundowner Series is back with a must-see event on Tuesday, November 7 that puts the spotlight on our native flora and why our region is like nowhere else on earth.
Everyone is welcome to join Nature Conservation and Undalup Association at Nala Bardip Mia (Margaret River HEART) to hear renowned botanist and conservation biologist Stephen Hopper, who will discuss rare plants of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge in a presentation titled “Like Nowhere Else on Earth”.
Undalup Association’s Zac Webb will kick the evening off with a Welcome to Country and join the Q&A panel to conclude the evening. See www.natureconservation.org.au or CLICK THIS LINK for tickets, which include a light supper and a drink on entry and are $15 for Nature Conservation members or $25 for non-members.
“Stephen brings 50 years of experience observing the unique endemism of our region, and is a leader in his field after developing a new theory on the evolution and conservation of biodiversity on the world’s oldest landscapes,” says Nature Conservation’s Sundowner Series organiser Jodie Passmore. “This will be a fascinating evening for anyone in our community with an interest in nature, or who wants to learn more. We hope you can join us for light supper and a drink while Stephen shares his unique insight and love for the iconic flora of the Margaret River region, followed by an audience Q&A.”
Stephen was the director of Perth’s Kings Park and Botanic Gardens, worked at the World Heritage-listed Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London, and was hired as Western Australia’s first Flora Conservation Research Officer in 1977. He is currently based in Albany at University of WA’s Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, where his focus is on the evolution, ecology, conservation and indigenous knowledge systems of temperate global biodiversity hotspots.
This is the fourth in Nature Conservation’s series of informal sundowner evenings which kicked off last year, bringing expert speakers to our region. They included shining a spotlight on the Margaret River region’s vital role to play in the Gondwana Link project, a fascinating evening focussed on protecting the health and future of the Margaret River, and a lively evening with nesting box guru Simon Cherriman.
Nature Conservation chair Dr Ann Ward said the Sundowner Series was “an excellent opportunity for robust discussion from a range of perspectives in the Margaret River region”. “I believe that living here comes with a responsibility to be an informed community who can learn together how to best care for where we live and how we can contribute to the wellbeing of the natural world,” she said. “This is an event not to be missed.”