Program for 2018

Download our current Program here

Meetings

Our meetings are held at the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden, Main Entrance, Hardacre Street, Coffs Harbour. APS Members, guests and other interested persons are always welcome.

NEXT MEETING: Tuesday March 13:  10am - 1pm

Topic: Western Australia Flora – It’s not just about the southwest!

Speaker: Morrie Duggan

The iconic flora of southwestern Australia is legendary.  Probably less well known is the flora of the arid and semi-arid zone further north including the wheat-belt, Eastern Goldfields, and Great Victoria Desert areas, east and northeast of Perth across to the South Australia and Northern Territory borders.

Morrie will show some of the flowering plants seen on a 2012 trip from Central Australia across the Central Desert Road to Laverton and then to Kalgoorlie, Southern Cross, Dalwallinu, Yalgoo and Geraldton.  Dominant genera include Acacia, Eremophila, Dodonaea and members of the daisy (Asteraceae) and pea (Fabaceae) plant families; with many lesser-known, but interesting species.

Last Meeting: Tuesday, February 13:  7 – 10pm

Guest Speaker: Mark Watt, National Parks Ranger

Topic: Saving Our Species

      

Earlier in December, Alison Moore and Janice Fitzpatrick met Mark Watt (National Parks Ranger for the 4 headlands where the NP regeneration projects are in progress) so he could show us the regeneration sites and the species they need monitored – Sophora tomentosa (a small tree) and Zieria prostrata (groundcover). Mark showed us the data collection forms, aerial maps of the locations and told us we would need to monitor each location once a year. Each of the headland sites has up to 9 locations where the plants are to be monitored, and Mark suggested teams of 2-3 would be best.

At our evening meeting on February 13, Mark will explain more about the work NP are doing, and how we can assist, so if you are interested in being part of the SoS team from APS, please come along and register your interest so we can start putting together the monitoring teams to start from March 2018.

Field Trips

Field Trip on January 28th  A tour of large myrtles

         

Eucalyptus propinqua   (L)  and Corymbia henryi  (R)

             

        Barry Kemp    (L)    and     Corymbia gummifera   (R)

Conservation

In 2018, our group will be monitoring selected local threatened or endangered species (from the NSW Environment Department's Saving Our Species register) by working with local National Parks regeneration projects around Moonee Beach, just north of Coffs Harbour. Once we have gained some experience in the techniques and methodology for data collection, we can extend our efforts to other species in our area.

See NSW Department of Environment - Saving Our Species