Dr Ken Walker on tour

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Wow, what a week! Dr Ken Walker's visit to our area is going to be pretty hard to summarise, but here goes ...

Over three very busy days last week Dr Walker very generously gave five public presentations, ran two school group activities, was featured in three local media stories and even made it along to a BBQ dinner. To what end, you might ask? Anyone who heard him speak on about native Australian bees and/or BowerBird.org.au will tell you Dr Walker is not only passionate about sharing and engaging everyone in science, but he's helped to make it easy to do so.

Dr Walker's talks on native bees captivated and challenged those present to think beyond European honey bees, and to appreciate the many adaptations and co-evolution of the 2,000 or so native bee species with Australian native plant species. And boy, did he have some amazing photos, videos and facts to wow audiences with.

At the events at Wirraminna, Wangaratta (daytime) and Frayne College, participants also had a chance to get out in the field with Dr Walker. At Frayne, he challenged students to find a Eucalypt leaf without any insect damage. In the process, the students found all sorts of critters, eggs, larvae, galls, flies, wasps, spiders, and much more ... most of which were captured in photos to be added to the BowerBird website. Students and adults alike learnt from Dr Walker's techniques with a bug net, as well as his prowess at identification and recall of scientific names!

Image: some photos from Dr Walker's visit to Frayne College, Baranduda.

Image: some photos from Dr Walker's visit to Frayne College, Baranduda.

Click here for more shots from this event.

Even at the events where there wasn't a chance to 'get out amongst it', Dr Walker encouraged all participants to keep their eyes peeled and to share what they see using the BowerBird website. He outlined a number of sightings made by members of the public and uploaded to BowerBird, where new species or indeed evidence of 'not previously recorded' species, have been identified thanks to the efforts of 'citizen scientists'. If this grabs your fancy, you can also check some of them out on the Bowerbird facebook page -https://www.facebook.com/BowerBirdAus.

As a result of Dr Walker's visit, there are some new local projects on the BowerBird site including two for sightings in specific locations, namely Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre at Burrumbuttock and the National Environment Centre at Thurgoona; and one for any sightings in gardens or locations around Albury-Wodonga for members or followers of Seed Savers Albury-Wodonga. You can follow them via those links, or use the detailed instructions here to create your own BowerBird account and tailor what you follow according to your own interests. 

Many, many thanks to Dr Ken Walker for entertaining, enthralling and enthusing us! Thanks as well to all who participated, and to the organisations and individuals that supported and hosted Dr Walker's visit.

And be sure to check out BowerBird.org.au to add your sightings to contribute to the 'citizen science' side of our collective knowledge.

BioBlitz 2013 at Woomargama

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This year's local BioBlitz was a ripper, with some unexpected spring sunshine to keep us cheery and the bonus of a photography workshop with nature photojournalist Esther Beaton as icing on the cake.

In case you're not familiar with the BioBlitz concept, it involves a bunch of folks "surveying" a particular area and noting the various species that are spotted. An internet search for 'bioblitz' will show they are held around the world. This one was co-ordinated by the Slopes to Summit partnership within the Great Eastern Ranges initiative and involved a stack of partners and contributors. It was based in Woomargama, with surveys undertaken over three days, in the national park as well as on nearby private property.

A wander in these parts is enjoyable at any time, but this event provides an opportunity to share in the knowledge of the ecologists and specialists who participate ... and you'd be amazed how much more you'll see and how much you can learn by joining in a two-hour survey or two. In addition to surveys, both traps and cameras were also placed in the park with more than a few cute critters captured (and released!) or caught on film. On Friday and Saturday nights, spotlighting surveys also revealed some of the nocturnal residents.

The photography workshop was held at Slate Hill and drew on some of this private property's features, including woodland, orchids and spectacular views. Esther's tips were useful for both beginners and more experienced photographers alike and the four-hour session breezed past quickly as we chatted and clicked and laughed our way along.

Images: Some shots taken during the photography workshop, where we were encouraged to play with perspective, texture and light. Click the image to view more and/or larger pics from the BioBlitz.

It was also a treat to be in a survey group with Esther the next day, and to see her in action in the field photographing people, the landscape and the other species within it. 

Nigel Jones and Tiffany Mason from Nature Conservation Trust were on hand to enlighten us on this survey and gave excellent context to the Woomargama Station bush we visited and many of the species we spotted.

For me another highlight was seeing this lace monitor. It climbed one tree but decided we were still too close so it returned down the trunk, ambled along the ground and then up into the relative safety of a much taller tree. Our guess was it was at least 1.2 metres long. We marvelled at the "lace" pattern of its skin and its dinosaur-like features.

You can read more about this BioBlitz here or view some more of my photos at this event here.

Bioflix competition - give it a go!

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Have you seen the Slopes to Summit (S2S) film competition? It's about amateurs creating short films (less than eight minutes) on biodiversity within the project area. That's Mount Kosciuszko to Corowa along the Murray and north taking in the towns of Culcairn, Holbrook, and Tumbarumba. Woo hoo - Albury's in that mix! They suggest films might depict a particular native animal or plant, a special natural place, or what you or someone you know is doing to conserve local biodiversity.

They're offering $5,000 in prizes across four categories: Open (amateur), Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, and Tertiary (Uni/tafe). Entries close 5pm, Friday 31st of May - which means there's still about five weeks to get something together.

I'm excited as it gives me an excuse to spend some time putting together some photos and thoughts that I'd like to share. And with the best entries being screened at Albury cinema in June, I'm even more thrilled to think about the great films we're bound to see. Whispers from others working on their entries suggest there'll be tales of regeneration, favourite critters, folks doing awesome work and more. Afterwards the organisers plan to share the collection of local films online too. 

You don't even need lots of film-making experience. I'm using mainly still photos and maybe a little bit of video (pushing my skills there!), some sound and the help of some software to create my 'film'.

If you need some inspiration, or aren't likely to enter but wonder what all the fuss is about, take a squiz at the links provided by way of background for the competition ... lots of ideas and inspiring tales, plus some tips on making a short film.

All the official stuff and more info about the competition is at: http://www.greateasternranges.org.au/s2s-bioflix-2013. Note that entries need to be shot in, or depict the biodiversity of, the project area.

I'm going to give it a whirl and I think you should too!