Restoring landscapes across the Mount Alexander Region

2012 Connecting Country Education Program

Posted on 9 February, 2012 by Connecting Country

The 2012 Education Program explores the idea that efficient production and care for nature go hand in hand. It includes workshops, lectures, discussions and field trips, and will throw some interesting questions at participants: Can farmers get paid to look after nature? How can conservation measures help long term farm efficiency? Does revegetation really make farmland more resilient?

Commencing on Monday the 27th of February, the program will first travel to Maldon, Chewton, Sutton Grange and Guildford to present a nest box watch workshop series. This will be followed by a lecture on the benefits of biodiversity in agriculture with Dr Dennis Saunders (Research Fellow CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences) on Tuesday 20th of March. Other sessions will cover practicalities like identifying native vegetation using Victorian Standards with Paul Foreman (Bush Heritage Australia) and Ian Higgins (North Central Catchment Management Authority) on Saturday 25th of March, followed by Establishing goals for revegetation initiatives by Prof Ary Hoffman (Bio21 Institute – University of Melbourne) on Tuesday 8th of May, and finish with Using native grasses and shrubs for pasture, presented by Graeme Hand (STIPA Native Grasses Association) on Friday 25th of May. A panel discussion on the economic opportunities related to farming for nature will also be held on Wednesday 18th April where the public can quiz some of the active local organisations such as Australian Carbon Traders, Trust for Nature, Connecting Country, Bush Broker and Land for Wildlife.

The program is open to all members of the public. Evening sessions are free, however the first two field days are $10 per person to cover transportation. For more information and to RSVP please contact bryan@connectingcountry.org.au or call the Connecting Country office on 5472 1594. Full details of the program and a registration form can be found here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

« | »