Connecting for Wildlife Movement is the third event in the international Art of Connecting 2021 webinar series run by the Conservation Across Large Landscapes Australia New Zealand (CALLANZ) network.

Hosted by the CALLANZ founders, Reconnecting Northland, Gondwana Link and the Great Eastern Ranges, the series aids the practice and science of connectivity conservation through the sharing of knowledge, tools and lessons learnt.

Connecting for Wildlife Movement, MC’d by Justine Daw, Director on Reconnecting Northland’s Board, will bring together expert panellists to explore the critical importance of well-connected landscapes for wildlife survival and adaptation and how to convert science into action.

Presentations will be followed by a Q&A panel session with questions taken from the audience.

When: Tuesday 2 November 2021 at 11.00am-1.00pm AEDT (8.00-10.00am AWST, 1.00-3.00pm NZST)
Where: Zoom webinar

Please RSVP by Friday 29 October 2021 to secure your spot.

A recording of the webinar will be made available to all registered attendees after the event.

Panellists

MC:
Justine Daw

Justine is an experienced executive leader, strategist and director who has worked in international diplomacy, environmental policy, and the science and innovation sector. As Deputy Chair for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF-NZ) and a director on the Reconnecting Northland board, Justine has a keen interest in sustainable development initiatives which focus on people as well as place.

Speakers and topics:

Gary Howling

Gary is Executive Director and CEO of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative. With a long involvement in connectivity conservation, Gary’s work is grounded in a passion for conserving wildlife migration across eastern Australia – a topic he considers one of the great untold stories in global ecology. Since joining the GER team as one of its original members in 2007, Gary has been a leader in providing specialist connectivity conservation advice, and was instrumental in initiating a series of large-scale spatial analyses that highlighted the importance of maintaining networks of interconnected habitats that support ecological and human well-being.

Topic: Connecting Australia’s great flyways

Millan Ruka

Millan Ruka established the Environmental River Patrol to document and report pollution to local councils in Northland. He has a strong understanding of how the Resource Management Act processes are implemented ‘on the ground’ and the perspectives of freshwater users. Millan is also involved in advocacy and governance for his hapū in Poroti and Mangakahia. He has worked on many studies into tuna populations and impacts, including the latest research on Māori and tuna in this contemporary world, 19 May 2021.

Topic: Tuna heke (eel migration)

Keith Bradby

Keith is currently CEO of Gondwana Link, which he was instrumental in establishing in 2002, and is also Deputy Chair of the National Landcare Network. He is a long-time advocate for the ecological values of south-western Australia and the strength of grass roots work. As a community based activist in the early 1980s he helped halt the clearing of some 3 million hectares of public land for marginal agriculture and as a concerned local was involved with establishing some of Australia’s earliest landcare groups and Australia’s first activated Biosphere Reserve program. Keith has consulted to emerging large landscape efforts in New Zealand, southern Africa and Mexico.

Topic: Emus, fences and storylines

Dr Kylie Soanes

Dr. Kylie Soanes is a conservation biologist at The University of Melbourne within the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences. Her research focuses on finding ways to reduce the impacts of roads and urban environments on native species, including the trial and evaluation of novel techniques. Her PhD research combined genetic data and traditional field methods to evaluate the success of canopy bridges and glider poles for arboreal mammals.

Topic: Bridging habitat gaps for glider conservation

Eamon Nathan

Eamon is passionate about leadership that shifts from assuming the sovereignty of humans to acknowledging the mana (spiritual power) of nature to build more cohesive and resilient communities. Eamon currently holds the position of Pou Manatū (General Manager) with Reconnecting Northland, a programme with the goal of achieving large-scale ecological wellbeing to support livelihoods of Northland peoples. Eamon will share insights and stories about the role of the migratory pīpiwharauroa (shining bronze cuckoo) as an indicator of seasons, availability of food sources and source of inspiration.

Topic: Pīpiwharauroa – Manu Tohu Tau (Shining Bronze Cuckoo – Seasonal Indicator birds)