Speaker Program
Join us for a range of free educational talks throughout the long weekend
Saturday April 29
Joan Dillon
9:30 am | Gardens for Wildlife
Joan Dillon is a passionate environmentalist with extensive expertise in Australian flora. Trained in agricultural science at Sydney University, she specialised in diseases of ornamental plants for many years, and later taught horticulture in Darwin. Joan supports local landcare and actively participates in efforts to create viable bush connections across the locally fragmented landscape.
With a Voluntary Conservation Agreement over much of her 11 acre property, she and her husband John work hard to protect important vegetation which connects to an ever-expanding wildlife-friendly layered garden that attracts many small birds – some permanent residents, others seasonal visitors. The garden connects with revegetated forest providing safe passage across the local landscape for wallabies, bandicoots, goannas, and an occasional echidna. Water, natural food sources and safety are paramount in the garden design.
Joan recently co-authored a book ‘Range and Hinterland Gardening’ with Dr Nita C Lester (which will be on sale at the Wood Expo), and will speak on the importance of native vegetation in garden design in her Gardens for Wildlife talk.h
Queensland Koala Crusaders
10 am | Koala conservation
Queensland Koala Crusaders deliver a range of activities that raise awareness and educate local community members, landholders, policy makers, visitors and the next generation regarding all aspects of koala and habitat conservation, safety and support.
Hear from speakers on the range of ways you can contribute to creating koala-friendly habitat.
Queensland Mycological Society
11:30 am | The role of fungi in growing native plants
The Queensland Mycological Society (QMS) provides a forum and a network for amateur and professional mycologists to share their common interest in macrofungi. QMS also encourages and supports the study and research of macrofungi, particularly in Queensland, through the collection, storage, and analysis of specimens.
Hear about the role of fungi in the ecosystem, and the importance of fungi in growing native plants.
Rita Everitt | Sunshine Coast Council
12:00 pm | Managing invasive plants and animals
Rita Everitt is the Biosecurity Technical Officer for Feral Animal Education and Control at Sunshine Coast Council.
Rita will discuss councils biosecurity programs and how they can assist landholders in managing invasive plant and animals.
Gordon Bradbury
12:30 pm | Farm Forestry and Australian native timber markets
Dr Gordon Bradbury is a professional forester and a Tasmanian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) enthusiast and promoter.
Gordon has spent his entire professional life in Tasmania, which, according to Gordon, is about the worst place in Australia to be a forester. For the past 12 years he has been promoting the idea of a Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative.
His talk will be about the failure of timber markets in Australia and what this means for premium solid Australian timbers.
Aunty Beverly Hand
2:00 pm | Traditional plant and tree use
Aunty Beverly Hand is a Kabi Kabi Traditional Custodian with immense knowledge, deep connection and intimate ties to the land and its flora and fauna.
As a respected Elder, Aunty Bev holds many cultural stories and knowledge of Indigenous plant life, traditions and history across South East Queensland, and has been involved in community conservation and education projects across the Sunshine Coast for over 30 years.
Join Aunty Bev for an educational talk about traditional plant and tree uses.
Christine Ballinger | Falls Farm
2:30 pm | Regenerative agriculture in practice
Christine is The Falls Farm manager and is responsible for ‘all things growing’ and relationships with customers. As a farm employing regenerative agriculture practices, ‘all things growing’ must also include the looking after the health of the environment within the farm’s sphere of influence.
Christine will talk about the farm’s approach to growing nutrient dense food and the pivotal relationship this has to regenerative agricultural practice.
Sunday April 30
BJ Murphy | Mimburi Dreaming
9:00 am | Bunya Dieback
Jinibara artist and dedicated father, BJ Murphy is a contemporary Aboriginal artist who takes inspiration from his country in the Sunshine Coast hinterland Australia. BJ is both a visual artist, curator and songman who is dedicated to the continuation of his Jinibara culture.
Join BJ and Spencer Shaw in a discussion around the environmental and cultural implications and challenges of current Bunya dieback issues across the landscape.
Spencer Shaw | Brush Turkey Enterprises
9:00 am | Bunya Dieback
Spencer Shaw is the co-founder of Brush Turkey Enterprises and Forest Heart ecoNursery, with over 30 years’ experience in ecological restoration and native plant nurseries.
Brush Turkey Enterprises is actively selecting and propagating Myrtle Rust resistant individuals with threatened Myrtaceae species and has been pro-active in locating and identifying the cause of Bunya Dieback on the Blackall Range since it was first noticed in 2020.
Join Spencer and BJ Murphy who will present on the environmental and cultural implications and challenges of current Bunya dieback issues across the landscape.
Charne Turner | Friends of Mary Cairncross
9:30 am | Mary Cairncross Ecological Park
Charne Turner has been a conservationist all her life. Since February 2016 she has been volunteering at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve in the Discovery Centre as a Rainforest Guide.
Understanding the importance of rainforest as an integral part of the world’s ecosystems, and having personal experience of the rejuvenating benefits for humans of old growth forests, Charne will give an overview of crucial decisions soon to be made by Sunshine Coast Council regarding 65 hectares of recently acquired land abutting Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve.
Queensland Koala Crusaders
10 am | Koala conservation
Queensland Koala Crusaders deliver a range of activities that raise awareness and educate local community members, landholders, policy makers, visitors and the next generation regarding all aspects of koala and habitat conservation, safety and support.
Hear from speakers on the range of ways you can contribute to creating koala-friendly habitat.
Land for Wildlife | Sunshine Coast Council
11:30 am | Hollow dependent fauna and their habitat
Land for Wildlife is a voluntary conservation program that supports participants in protecting, enhancing and rehabilitating native flora and fauna on their property.
Hear from the Land for Wildlife team and learn more about the wonderful benefits that being a Land for Wildlife property has on the local environment.
Sandra Tuszynska
12:00 pm | The secret life of the soil superheroes
Sandra Tuszynska (PhD) is a soil mycologist (fungi scientist), microbiologist and ecologist with a special interest in soil fungi, bacteria and their grazers as essential plant symbionts and collaborators.
As a passionate science communicator, public speaker and educator, Sandra inspires others to cultivate soil biodiversity. In her Soil Restoration Course, she provides the latest research findings and practical tools on how to restore soil life necessary for carbon sequestration, food security and ecosystems conservation.
Sandra will introduce the soil superheroes, and demonstrate how we can support their vital role in vegetation health.
Eric Anderson
12:30 pm | Native bird habitat
Eric retired to the Sunshine Coast hinterland in 2005 after having worked for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries across Queensland for 40 years. With an Agriculture Science Degree from the University of Queensland, his ecological research has centred on habitat evaluation and the impacts of clearing and grazing in eucalypt woodlands in Central Queensland. He has been a member of Birdlife Australia since 1978 and had roles in the Birdlife Southern Queensland Branch as Convenor (2006-08), Member Conservation Sub-committee (2006-15) and BirdLife’s representative on the Glossy Black Conservancy (2007-present). In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2019, he was awarded an AM, Member of the Order of Australia, for significant service to conservation and the environment.
Join Eric for an educational talk about native bird habitat and what you can do to contribute to the conservation of our beautiful native species.
Narelle McCarthy | Sunshine Coast Environment Council
2:00 pm | Environmental advocacy on the Sunshine Coast
Narelle McCarthy undertakes the liaison and advocacy roles with the Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC), the peak environmental advocacy organisation and Regional Conservation Council for the greater Sunshine Coast region since 1980.
Narelle will provide an overview of SCEC’s representation as the umbrella organisation for over 50 amazing member groups, its key campaigns, activities and Floodplains to Forests project.
Bat Rescue
2:30 pm | Bats , ecology and the future of our forests
Bat Rescue is a non-profit volunteer organisation dedicated to the rescue of sick, injured and orphaned flying-foxes and microbats. Their ultimate goal is rehabilitation and release back to the wild, and participation in conservation projects which benefit bats and their habitat.
The Bat Rescue team will talk on the important role that bats play in the ecology of native forests,
3:00 pm | Piece by Piece; sixty years of conservation and development on the Sunshine Coast
Elaine Green is the author of seven local history books, a former Maroochy Shire Councillor and long term environmental advocate. Her latest book outlines the concerted efforts of environmentalists to preserve diminishing areas of nature over the past sixty years of relentless development in the Sunshine Coast region.
Monday May 1
Rita Everitt | Sunshine Coast Council Biosecurity
9:00 am | Managing invasive plants and animals
Rita Everitt is the Biosecurity Technical Officer for Feral Animal Education and Control at Sunshine Coast Council.
Rita will discuss councils biosecurity programs and how they can assist landholders in managing invasive plant and animals.
Bat Rescue
9:30 am | Bats , ecology and the future of our forests
Bat Rescue is a non-profit volunteer organisation dedicated to the rescue of sick, injured and orphaned flying-foxes and microbats. Their ultimate goal is rehabilitation and release back to the wild, and participation in conservation projects which benefit bats and their habitat.
The Bat Rescue team will talk on the important role that bats play in the ecology of native forests,
Queensland Mycological Society
10:00 am | The role of fungi in growing native plants
The Queensland Mycological Society (QMS) provides a forum and a network for amateur and professional mycologists to share their common interest in macrofungi. QMS also encourages and supports the study and research of macrofungi, particularly in Queensland, through the collection, storage, and analysis of specimens.
Hear about the role of fungi in the ecosystem, and the importance of fungi in growing native plants.
Spencer Shaw | Brush Turkey Enterprises
11:30 am | Syntropic Regeneration
Spencer Shaw is the co-founder of Brush Turkey Enterprises and Forest Heart ecoNursery, with over 30 years’ experience in ecological restoration and native plant nurseries.
Brush Turkey Enterprises is actively selecting and propagating Myrtle Rust resistant individuals with threatened Myrtaceae species and has been pro-active in locating and identifying the cause of Bunya Dieback on the Blackall Range since it was first noticed in 2020.
Join Spencer for an informative talk about Syntropic Regeneration.
Dr John Robertson | Friends of Mary Cairncross
12:00 pm | The importance of the Mary Cairncross rainforest remnant
Dr John Robertson has worked for over forty years in natural resource management, Industry development and biosecurity in both government and private industry. For much of his career, John has worked at a senior executive level and was up until recently, the General Manager of the Invasive Species Program, Biosecurity Queensland in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
He has had extensive experience that ranges from overseeing operational and research programs, leading large industry development initiatives, to developing strategic partnerships across a range of primary industries and natural resource management settings.
John is the current 2022-2023 President of the Friends of Mary Cairncross Association and enjoys continuing the valuable achievements of Friends to preserve such a precious nature reserve for the appreciation of generations to come.
Aleisha Keating | Hinterland Bush Links
2:00 pm | Restoring habitat, connecting landscapes
Aleisha Keating is the Manager of Hinterland Bush Links (HBL). She is enjoying applying her experience in natural resource management, grant funding, sustainability education and project management to help Hinterland Bush Links restore, connect and protect native vegetation throughout the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
HBL works closely with landholders, community volunteers and environmental groups to restore native habitats, build community capacity and improve local environmental knowledge. Aleisha will talk about some of their current projects and ways you can get involved.
Gordon Bradbury
2:30 pm | Farm forestry and Australian native timber markets
Dr Gordon Bradbury is a professional forester and a Tasmanian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) enthusiast and promoter.
Gordon has spent his entire professional life in Tasmania, which, according to Gordon, is about the worst place in Australia to be a forester. For the past 12 years he has been promoting the idea of a Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative.
His talk will be about the failure of timber markets in Australia and what this means for premium solid Australian timbers.
Benjamin Child | Sunshine Coast Environment Council
3:00 pm | Future campaigns for sustainability
Ben is an experienced fundraising, partnerships and community engagement specialist having worked with a range of organisations including Barung Landcare, QLD Conservation Council, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Netball QLD, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors and Bowls Queensland.
Ben will discuss the range of events that Sunshine Coast Environment Council has delivered over the last 42 years, with a focus on recent programs such as World Environment Day which will be centred around combatting plastic pollution, and invites individuals, schools, community groups, businesses and other organisations to get involved.