Thursday 23 January 2014

6th Great Cocky Count

The sixth Great Cocky Count (GCC), WA’s biggest survey for the endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoo, will be held on Sunday 6 April 2014. During this annual community-based survey, volunteers count Carnaby’s at night-time roost sites across the southwest of the state on a single night in April. The 2014 GCC will also count red-tailed black cockatoos.

A key aim of the GCC is to survey as many roost sites as possible. Your help is needed to make the 2014 GCC the biggest survey ever.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Register to monitor a roost site on Sunday 6 April 2014
Fill out the 2014 volunteer registration form to express your interest in conducting a roost count for the 2014 GCC (See below for contact details for the count coordinator to request a form). There are several hundred sites to monitor, so we need your help!

2. Report a roost site
Help us to identify more roost sites for both white-tailed and red-tailed black-cockatoos. Roosts are places where black-cockatoos rest at night. Important information on the location of critical roosting habitat is collected through the GCC, and is increasing with every GCC completed. If you know about a night-time roost site, please email or call the count coordinator.

3. Tell your friends and colleagues about the GCC
Use your networks to spread the word about the GCC. Facebook, Twitter, email, and word-of-mouth are all great ways to encourage people to get involved.

For more information about the GCC, or to tell us about a roost site for white-tailed or red-tailed black-cockies, contact Hugh Finn on 9287 2251 or 0400 177 615 or at greatcockycount@birdlife.org.au

The 2014 Great Cocky Count is funded by Perth Region NRM through the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program.

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Turning science into public policy

I recently found out that I have been awarded a Wentworth Group Science Scholarship! I'll be going to Sydney in March to attend a Master Class where I will meet some of Australia's leading scientists.

The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists aim to incorporate more science into public policy, to drive innovation, and to implement solutions to improve the management of Australia's land, water, marine and coastal resources.

The entire purpose of my project has been to identify what it is that Carnaby's cockatoos need to survive in the urban landscape. The  next step is to ensure that those important elements are protected or enhanced through conservation strategies and public policy including urban planning and clearing application assessments. The scholarship will help me package the findings from my project so that they can be readily incorporated into public policy.