NPA presents Hearty Soup + AGM + Citizen Science talk

Armidale Branch of the National Parks Association is a community group dedicated to protection and appreciation of nature.

We invite all nature lovers to join us for a meal, meeting and/or talk

Friday 20^th September 2024  at Armidale Tree Group’s Woodland Center, 80 Mann St (opposite the end of Douglas St)

• 6:00 pm   Welcome with hearty homemade soups,  
• 6:30 pm   AGM, local conservation issues

After brief reports by the president & treasurer, and elections of office bearers, let us hear what current issues concern members and guests. Are you worried about logging in public native forests, regional water use affecting flows into national parks, the future of nature on private land or different issues?

• 7:30 pm Guest speakers on Citizen Science: 
  • Dr Andrew Thornhill  Botanist and Herbarium Director at UNE His interests include mosses, eucalypts and biogeography
  • Dr Sue Jaggar  entomologist, helps people discover nature

Citizen Science:  build knowledge of nature from your photos or sound files, by yourself or in a bioblitz

Dr Andrew Thornhill will talk about some ways scientists use information or assistance from the community. Computers and mobile phones make it easy for nearly anyone to contribute to science. Learn how to load the iNaturalist app onto your mobile and how to use it well so your photos of plants or animals in the bush or insects in your garden can be used by scientists. The iNaturalist community of nature lovers may tell you what you photographed. See how to contribute your observations to projects that interest you – perhaps Andrew’s Mosses and Liverworts of NSW project.

Hear about various local citizen science projects you, your friends or family can help or join (they don’t all need a smartphone) including recording frog calls for Frog ID, – finding Greater Gliders in Styx forest, & New England Rakali and Platypus Project

Dr Sue Jaggar will set up a light trap to attract nocturnal insects and explain what a bioblitz is, then we’ll take photos of insects, upload them to iNaturalist, learn about the insects.