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BGCI/BGANZ Congress

BGCI/BGANZ Congress

Sep 30, 2022 | News

The 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress was on in Melbourne this week. The ANPC’s Amelia Martyn Yenson presented a talk in the Germplasm Conservation in Australia Symposium – a network of expertise for a biodiverse flora. Amelia also received the 2022 Marsh Award for International Plant Conservation in recognition of her work managing the revision of the Germplasm Guidelines! The Marsh Award recognises an individual in the early to mid-stages of their career who has made a significant achievement in the conservation of rare and endangered plant species and plant diversity. Congratulations to Amelia from all of us at the ANPC, it’s very much deserved!

Image by: Brad Desmond

Myrtle Rust survey

Myrtle Rust survey

Sep 8, 2022 | News

Now is your chance to help! The Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens and BGANZ are running a Myrtle Rust survey. The survey will take stock of Myrtaceae species currently in collections across the country to inform future actions to conserve myrtle rust-affected species. If you or your organisation holds conservation collections of Myrtaceae species please take the time to fill in their survey. It closes Monday 31 October 2022.
Preventing rare plant extinction

Preventing rare plant extinction

Sep 8, 2022 | News

In 2020 the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) provided funding to the ANPC to prevent rare plant extinction and reduce impacts of future fires. To date, this project has contributed to:

1. The listing of ‘Fire regimes that cause biodiversity decline’ as a Key Threatening Process under the national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

2. Creating a priority list of plant species to survey so we can understand factors which threaten their recovery after the 2019/20 megafires. The two groups being focused on are NSW endemics with a narrow range and epiphytic orchids.

3. Supporting surveys to understand the impact of Myrtle Rust on Myrtaceae species after the fires. This work will follow on from our ‘Fire and Rust’ project last year and complement the ‘Safe Custody for Native Guava project’ mentioned above. We are also supporting the development of a video on Myrtle Rust which is now in post-production.

More details on the SDZWA project can be found here.

Image below: Banksia paludosa subsp astrolux is one of the target species being surveyed following the 2019/2020 bushfires. Photo credit: Tony Auld

Plants Going Places – Orchids

Plants Going Places – Orchids

Sep 8, 2022 | News

The final video produced under our Plants Going Places project features a favourite – orchids! With their specialised biology and pollinator specific associations orchids have gained a reputation for being difficult to propagate. This video discusses how to grow and restore orchid populations when faced with many challenges. The video and a podcast were produced by Chantelle Doyle and Michael Lawrence-Taylor under the Plants Going Places project funded by The Ross Trust. Thanks also to the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub for their support.

You can find the three Plants Going Places videos on the ANPC YouTube channel.

All the videos and podcasts from this series and other translocation stories can be found on the Plant Heroes website.

New project – Safe Custody for Native Guava

New project – Safe Custody for Native Guava

Aug 3, 2022 | News

The ANPC has partnered with five botanic gardens and the NSW and QLD governments to provide safe custody for the Critically Endangered Native Guava (Rhodomyrtus psidioides). This species was not threatened before Myrtle Rust was introduced in 2010 but has since suffered significant declines. This project will provide a coordinated national response to the conservation of this species through germplasm collection, providing resources for maintaining potted collections in conservation nurseries, creating a living collection at botanic gardens in three states and raising awareness through a short video. This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government.

For more information on this project and our partners head to our project webpage.