Bringing native biodiversity back will be the focus of Dr Paul Gibson-Roy’s address to the Cowra Clmate Smart Innovation conference on April 18 and 19.
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Dr Gibson-Roy is an ecologist and researcher who has focused on the restoration of complex, biodiverse grasslands and grassy woodlands since 1998
By recreating native diverse plant communities this creates the opportunity for fauna to colonise as well as other benefits such as reducing soil loss or surface water loss, Dr Gibson-Roy will tell the two day Cowra conference.
He will tell farmers and conference goers that a lot of native species are also useful in farming systems for fodder or for their integrated pest management attributes.
Climate Smart Innovation will explore the future of agricultural practices and showcase interesting projects in the region.
The two-day Climate Smart Innovations (CSI) for the Central West Conference will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19 and is for anyone interested in sustainable land-use.
In 2004 Dr Gibson-Roy established the Grassy Groundcover Research Project (GGRP) as a partnership between Greening Australia and Melbourne University - a project that focussed on developing grassland restoration techniques and seed resourcing through the use of native seed production crops - which he headed until 2011.
During this time the project developed industry-first methods for reconstructing species-rich native grasslands and grassy woodlands.
He currently leads the Sydney Grassy Groundcover Research Project team which focus' on restoring critically threatened Cumberland Plain Grassy Woodland, where in the past two years they have seeded 30ha and are developing Australia’s largest Seed production facility at Western Sydney University Richmond Campus.
In 2016, he was a recipient of a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship which allowed him to tour the US to investigate native seed production and prairie restoration.
He has done extensive work on farms and road sides and now with Councils and other public agencies (LLS, National Parks, etc) in more urban areas.