Environmental biosecurity was the focus of a recent webinar hosted by the Peri-Urban Environmental Biosecurity Network (PEBN) for the botanic gardens biosecurity webinar series.
Elyse Herrald-Woods, Director of Strategy and Support with the Environmental Biosecurity Office, began the webinar by introducing the concept of environmental biosecurity.
“It protects our way of life and it allows us to enjoy things like our botanic gardens, our backyards, our street trees, our national parks, and, of course, our unique flora and fauna by managing the risks of exotic pests, weeds and diseases from coming into the country.”
“It also reduces threats to our biodiversity by managing the risks of invasive alien species.”
“Environmental biosecurity protects those things that we cannot and should never assign an economic value, and that includes the cultural heritage of our First Nations peoples.”
Elyse also highlighted the role the community can play in biosecurity.
“Biosecurity is a partnership, while governments at all levels are involved there is also a really important role for the community and individuals, this is particularly the case in the environmental space.”
For example, the PEBN connects experts in environmental biosecurity with peri-urban communities in NSW so that they can work together to protect the environment from the impact of exotic pests and diseases.
“There are a range of unique characteristics of peri-urban areas that make their role in environmental biosecurity quite important including that many landholdings have patches of native ecological communities still on them or that they adjoin national parks, bush reserves, and other recreational areas.”
She finished her presentation with some suggestions of ways you can support environmental biosecurity.
“It might be downloading that reporting app you’ve heard about, it might be double checking where that online seller of seeds is based, or it might be cleaning your shoes before you next bushwalk.”
The webinar also featured presentations from:
- Eva Twarkowski (Local Land Services, Hunter) on cane toads
- Dr Adrian Nicholas (Department of Regional NSW) on red imported fire ants
- Rachel Taylor-Hukins (NSW Department of Primary Industries) on how to report plant pests and diseases in NSW.
Watch the full webinar below to learn more about environmental biosecurity and the role peri-urban communities can play.
This webinar was held as part of a series of webinars hosted by the Botanic Gardens Biosecurity Network. Watch the other webinars here.
