Conservation news

• Lippia now noxious weed
• Top End Science Fair, Aug 18-20
• Fujitsu encouraging better green IT policies
• What would you like to change? PricewaterhouseCoopers set up a website
• Kwongan Colloquium: biodiversity in the WA wheatbelt
• WA pandas get their feet wet for the western swamp tortoise
• Reef talk: formal relationships build
• Great Barrier Reef Island Resort Turns Green into Gold

* Lippia now noxious weed:
Finally, lippia has been recognised as a noxious weed. This weed has infested southern Australia and an area of 5.3 million hectares throughout the Murray-Darling Basin. Lippia is a weed that our invasives team has worked hard to counteract over the last few years.
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/weeds/profiles/lippia/amend-control-order
* Top End Science Fair, August 18-20:
National Science Week was recently held in Darwin. WWF’s Threatened Species Coordinator Tida Nou set up a stall at the Top End Science Fair, complete with stuffed specimens of various declining mammals found in northern Australia. The aim of the fair was to demonstrate the importance of science and how it benefits the public in everyday life.
Tida spoke to around 360 students who learnt about the work WWF has been doing in northern Australia and the organisation’s work geared towards safeguarding the nation’s threatened species. Amongst the kids were numerous budding rangers and wildlife warriors who were keenly interested in working in biodiversity conservation one day. Nice job Tida!
* Fujitsu
WWF will be working with Fujitsu to encourage government agencies to develop their green IT policies. Fujitsu is inviting CIOs (Chief Information Officers) of government departments to complete a survey about their green IT policies. On September 29, WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne will speak at the Canberra launch of these survey results. Fujitsu will also make a donation to WWF for every survey response.

* What would you like to change?
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a long standing WWF corporate partner. Their staff support WWF’s Coral Sea campaign via workplace giving and they even conduct the conservation organisation’s annual financial audit pro bono. PwC recently set up the website www.whatwouldyouliketochange.com.au and they really want to hear from everyone - especially their charity partners - about what people would like to change in their community, the world, or in their own life. So go ahead let them know, voice an opinion!
* Kwongan Colloquium
On September 12, Chris Curnow, WWF’s Manager for Native Vegetation, presented at the Kwongan Colloquium regarding biodiversity in the WA Wheatbelt. The aims of the Colloquium is to enhance awareness of the significance of native plants in the general community. A Colloquium, by the way, is an academic name for a seminar!
So what is Kwongan? The Kwongan heathlands form an ecoregion confined to south-western Australia. Kwongan is found on coastal plains from Cape Naturaliste to Perth, though large areas have been destroyed. The name is derived from the language of the Noongar Aboriginal people. It comprises floristically-rich heath with dense thickets of sclerophyllous shrubs and isolated small trees. It is characterised by nutrient-poor sandy soils, frequent wildfire, a very high level of endemism, spectacular displays of wildflowers in spring, and a Mediterranean climate with winter rainfall and hot, dry summers.
* WA pandas get their feet wet for the western swamp tortoise
WWF’s WA staff recently spent a Saturday up to their ankles in a swamp, restoring habitat for the critically endangered western swamp tortoise. Helen Pitman, Paula Schibeci, Helena Mills, Mike Roache and Kath Howard pitched in to help the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise group (originally established through the assistance of the WWF Threatened Species Network) with their vital on-ground works. They were rewarded by a chance meeting with one of the elusive reptiles, found next to the Threatened Species Network sign, trying to get into the reserve!
* Reef talk:

In Queensland, WWF’s GBR Water Quality Manager Piet Filet has started to build relationships with three regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies - Terrain, North Queensland Dry Tropics and Reef Catchments - to increase the targets of farmer involvement in Reef Rescue. This is the beginning of the Reef Rescue funded project for WWF.
* Great Barrier Reef Island Resort Turns Green into Gold
Samantha Hardy, WWF Key Supporters Manager, recently attended the launch of the new Hybrid Solar Power Station on Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island. Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, on the Great Barrier Reef’s southern-most tip, has become one of the first island resorts in Australia to move almost entirely to renewable energy, dramatically reducing its carbon footprint and lowering dangerous risk to marine life. Lady Elliot Island has reduced its annual power consumption by at least 75 per cent since the current owners took control of the lease in 2005. The dramatic change has been achieved through a combination of solar and gas technology, water desalination and various strategic behavioural adaptations