Forester Greg Litherland, Darren Burn (QYAC), Craig Welden, Dr Samantha Lloyd, Aunty Joan Hendriks, Bushfire Safety Officer Liane Henderson and Fire Inspector Neil Kelso.
Delegates from all over SE Queensland, including island representatives, converged on the Little Ship Club at Dunwich for the SE Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium forum.
Established in 1998, the South East Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (SEQFBC) is a network of land managers and stakeholders devoted to providing a coordinated response and best-practice recommendations for fire management, fire ecology and the conservation of biodiversity in the South East Queensland (SEQ) region through education, community engagement and applied research.
Island fire authorities, volunteer fire fighting groups, regional councils and many other councils including Redland City Council and organisations make up the SEQ Fire and Biodiversity Consortium.
The Dunwich event, which attracted more than 100 delegates, was conducted by Craig Welden co-ordinator for the consortium and Dr Samantha Lloyd, the consortium manager.
Dr Lloyd explained that SEQFBC is about education, extension and engagement - assisting land managers and private land holders with evidence-based information on fire management and biodiversity conservation issues.
There is also applied fire ecology research investigating knowledge gaps in biodiversity and fire management; and the provision of a coordinated response to matters of regional, state and national fire management and fire ecology importance (e.g. legislative amendments and government inquiries).
Forums like the Dunwich event are held regularly and involve latest information, knowledgable guest speakers, and practical tours.
Whilst on North Stradbroke Island, many in the group were taken on guided tours of island field sites which involved talks by Kathy Stephens, consulting botanist and author, Darren Burns joint management co-ordinator for the QYAC, Greg Litherland retired forester, and Brendan Yetman and Michael Nochling of Parks and Wildlife.
The North Stradbroke Island conference was valuable because of the island fires over 12 months ago.
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