Friends of Okura Bush Incorporated Society invite our fellow conservationists to join us in the Okura Hall, Okura River Road, as we share a brief summary of what we have been up to over the last year.
This will be followed by our guest speaker, Jaqueline Beggs.
We look forward to catching up with you over a cup of tea and some delicious home baking.
Biodiversity challenges: from invasive species to light pollution
Our world is changing rapidly, but what recent events have highlighted is the enormous value of nature to human health and wellbeing. Yet maintaining nature and particularly New Zealand’s unique biodiversity is challenging. The ongoing threats are huge and it is clear that we will need new strategies if we want to ensure our biodiversity and ecosystems are here for future generations to enjoy. Using examples from my involvement with conservation research, including the iconic kākāpō (an endemic nocturnal ground parrot) and the impact of artificial light at night, I will discuss some of the key challenges for conservation. More importantly, I will consider the way forward, particularly initiatives that seek to engage a greater diversity of people in conservation.
Jacqueline Beggs is a Professor in Ecology at the University of Auckland. Her research has focussed on the ecology and control of invasive wasps, but she has also worked on kākā, kererū, kākāpō, and a range of invertebrates. This has resulted in over 100 refereed scientific papers. Jacqueline is the Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity at the University of Auckland and leads the Sustainable Future research theme for the Faculty of Science. Jacqueline is chair of the Department of Conservation’s kākāpō recovery group and was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on biosecurity. Twitter @JacquelineBeggs