The Waikato Branch RSNZ monthly talks for 2011 will begin next week. Last year's theme - Facing the Future - will continue after the first two talks.
A programme of talks will be available on the Waikato Branch website: http://www.rsnzwaikato.org/talkseries.
All welcome.
Wednesday March 9, 2011 at 7.30 pm.
Professor Sir Alan Mark
Mountain tops to ocean depths: involvement with a range of ecological/environmental issues, mainly in the south.
Professor Sir Alan Mark
Department of Botany
University of Otago, Dunedin.
Room L.01
Gate 8, Waikato University
“I will describe a lifetime involvement with pure and applied ecological studies of the indigenous upland snow tussock grasslands (mostly with the Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust).
This has been aimed at understanding the grassland ecology, its sustainable management and ecosystem services, particularly the impacts of burning and mammalian grazing, and the unpredictably high water yields. This research has been interspersed with shorter-term opportunistic indulgences in ecopolitics, ranging from the conservation of indigenous grasslands and associated mountain lands (from the mid 60s to the current tenure review and government purchases of high country Crown pastoral leasehold lands), sustainable lake management (Lakes Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau), conservation organisations (Forest & Bird Protection Society: notably the SWNZ World Heritage Area successful campaign), national park ecological surveys and long-term monitoring (notably Mt Aspiring National Park, Secretary Island in Fiordland National Park and the Waitutu Marine Terraces now in Fiordland N.P.).
Several appointed roles (Fiordland Lake Guardians, Conservation Board, National Parks & Reserves Authority, Conservation Authority, Land Settlement Board, most recently Fiordland Marine Guardians), and a position as Deputy Director of the Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative of the IUCN, have allowed me to indulge quite widely, as I will briefly discuss.”
Alan was born in Dunedin. He attended Duke University in the US under a Fulbright Travel Grant. He was the Professor of Botany at Otago University from 1975.
Alan is a past member of the NZ National Parks and Reserves Authority, a past member NZ Conservation Authority, a past member and Chair of the Otago Conservation Board, a Fiordland Marine Guardian, a member of the Mid Dome Wilding Tree Charitable Trust, a member of the Leslie Hutchins Conservation Foundation, a patron of the Pomona Island (Lake Manapouri) Restoration Trust. He has been involved in the Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust: first as a research fellow, then as a research adviser, and, until earlier this year, as chairman of its Board of Governors. Alan is a Life Member and former president of Forest and Bird Society, and a member of Ecological Society. He was awarded a CBE for contributions to conservation, and he is now a Knight of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Alan is the recipient of the Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement for 2011.
Room L.01 is in L block. Entry is easiest through Gate 1 on Knighton Rd. A campus map is available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/contacts/map.pdf. There is no charge for this event.
Tuesday 5th April: Professor Robin Clark - Science meets art: investigating pigments in art and archaeology (details to follow)
