Events

Professor Pickering is active in developing technology to promote biodiversity conservation, and will be introducing us to the new GroNATIVE App. It showcases 400 local native plants with images and information about each species and the native wildlife it supports. Users can select from 16 different garden styles and 40 eco-systems naturally adapted to their suburb to provide their garden with year-round excitement, colour and wildlife

Gecko Talks March speaker is Adrian Nathaniel, a licensed financial advisor who champions the conscious creation of wealth in this world through values-based, ethical and responsible investment.

Australia is home to 24 species of raptor, from the small sparrowhawk to the impressive wedge-tailed eagle. Few people get close enough to appreciate the vast wingspans and powerful talons and beaks of these avian hunters unless they visit a zoo or wildlife centre. This month’s Gecko Talk will offer the public the opportunity to learn more and get close to these magnificent birds.

Paul Mander is one of the rare people to keep company with birds of prey, and we are proud to present him as our first speaker for 2017’s program of Gecko Talks. Paul is a master Falconer and licensed raptor trainer in Queensland. He has worked with raptors for nearly 30 years and has trained many birds for free-flight shows around the country. His collection of birds at his training and rehabilitation centre on the Gold Coast is impressive, including falcons, eagles, kites, buzzards and owls. Here injured birds are taught to ‘free-fly’ to rebuild their strength before being returned to the wild. As falconry is not a sport practiced in Australia, Paul’s skills and birds are in high demand. Soren, his 16-year old wedge-tailed eagle, is an apex predator whose threatening presence has been used to rebalance local wildlife populations in areas where intrusive animals take up residence.

Gecko is proud to introduce Steve Collum and Ash Sandercombe from Habi-Tec as speakers for the May Guest Speaker Night. Gecko extends an invitation to the community to come and learn about how to create lost habitat for our wildlife.

Steve Collum and his skilled team of arborists embrace a holistic approach to tree management, employing techniques that help reintroduce biodiversity to trees and their surrounding areas. Their goal is to highlight the importance of habitat recreation to the public, developers and industries related to arboriculture and horticulture. Habi-Tec is currently working with the City of Gold Coast to promote, manage and create wildlife habitats within the city’s mature tree population, so far with great success.