The first presentation on an aspect of COG’s history in relation to COG’s 50th Anniversary celebrations will be by Bruce Lindenmayer on “COG’s contribution to ANU Research Programs”.

The main presentation will be by Dr Veronica Doerr from CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences on “The Spaces In Between: connections and habitats in the broader landscape.

In late 2012, COG volunteers did some unusual birding – they watched individual trees out in the middle of paddocks to see what birds were there and which directions they were moving. These ‘connectivity tree watches’ were part of the ‘Flyways and Byways’ project funded by the ACT Government to test our current ideas about connectivity – the bits and pieces in between proper habitat patches that allow animals to move through the landscape. The method was a new one and we weren’t sure it was going to work. But it did, and provided even deeper insights than we anticipated! In this talk, Veronica will share the intriguing results of COG’s hard work, and hopefully inspire you to look at the landscapes of the ACT just a bit differently.