People, conservation groups and agencies are making a big impact in conserving nature and wildlife when they connect, respect and act, a packed audience heard at Nature Conservation’s recent environmental sundowner.
Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s latest environmental sundowner – called “Not the End of the World: Conservation in Action” held at the Margaret River HEART last Wednesday – heard that there were many threats and challenges to nature. But it highlighted conservation wins in our region and abroad, and how people, groups and agencies are having some big wins for nature.
Three guest speakers Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) senior wildlife ecologist Dr Sophia Callander, ReWild Perth program manager Hannah Gulliver, and Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) conservation coordinator Clare Forward left the audience with a sense of informed optimism.
Dr Callander shared how innovations in technology such as AI and drones are transforming and boosting wildlife management, monitoring and research.
AI is being used to comb through hundreds of hours of footage from motion-sensing remote camera traps, and then identify and classify native and feral animals. Drones capable of radio tracking multiple animals at once are also used to track collared animals in combination with handheld antennas and antennas attached to a plane. And also being trialled now are double-gated tunnels, that allow target species to move from one side of a fence to the other, based on AI recognition, with the potential application of being used for native fauna corridors. 
Much of her work is on AWC’s Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, a 132,000ha property on Badimia Country on the edge of the Wheatbelt, which has re-introduced 10 native mammal species including the woylie, numbat and bilby. “We started with one property in the Perth Hills… and now 34 years on we have over 30 sanctuaries and partnerships across Australia that we now manage, so anything is possible,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms Forward gave the audience a local perspective as DBCA conservation coordinator for the Blackwood District. She discussed the special but threatened animals of our region including woylie, chuditch, hairy marron, white-bellied frog and pygmy possum. And shared insights into lesser-known animals such as the Leeuwin freshwater snail and the engaewa – a burrowing freshwater crayfish.
She said foxes and feral cats had taken a toll on many of these native animals but some species are doing well, thanks to fauna recovery projects. Her message was that many conservation projects, including those run by DBCA, rely heavily on positive collaborations with volunteers and local organisations which have a huge impact and are vital for success.
Finally, Ms Gulliver said suburban homeowners are creating successful wildlife havens and corridors by planting natives, adding ponds or bird baths, and merging with neighbouring gardens in the street.
Her work focusses on community engagement and cultivating a movement aimed at people finding joy in and stewardship of our environment, and she said there were incredible health and wellbeing benefits from getting involved in your garden or volunteering with groups like Nature Conservation.
She also had plenty of tips for empowering people to embrace greener practices in their gardens and overlooked spaces.
“People and urban landscapes can be part of the solution by bringing nature home,” she said. “By having an ecological garden and planting local natives… you are taking action on climate change. If you do one thing in your garden, add a water source.”
As a bonus on the night, Wayne Prangnell from the new Margaret River Community Nursery gave an update on the ambitious project to supply tens of thousands of native plants for revegetation in our region, thanks to a fantastic community collaboration and an army of dedicated volunteers.
Nature Conservation general manager Drew McKenzie said we are often bombarded with bad news stories about the environment, but this sundowner put the spotlight on some of the wins and the big impact of people working together.
This was the 10th sundowner is Nature Conservation’s series, each putting the spotlight on a conservation topic and covering ways which the community can help the local environment, native flora and wildlife. Its Environmental Sundowner Series is possible thanks to funding from the Shire of Augusta Margaret River.